


Pineapples and Green Berets

by anonymous_seal



Category: Psych (TV 2006)
Genre: BAMF Carlton Lassiter, BAMF Shawn Spencer, Episode: s01e01 Pilot, Episode: s01e02 Spellingg Bee, Episode: s01e10 From the Earth to Starbucks, Episode: s02e03 Psy vs. Psy, Episode: s02e09 Bounty Hunters!, Episode: s02e10 Gus's Dad May Have Killed an Old Guy, M/M, Military Backstory, Shassie
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-19
Updated: 2021-01-17
Packaged: 2021-02-28 02:21:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 84,407
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22796227
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anonymous_seal/pseuds/anonymous_seal
Summary: Following high school graduation, Shawn Spencer joins the army, then joins the Special Forces. What will he do when he's forced to take leave back in Santa Barbara? More importantly, how will he react when his ex, Carlton Lassiter, is forced back into his life?
Relationships: Carlton Lassiter/Shawn Spencer
Comments: 202
Kudos: 317





	1. Pilot Part One

**Author's Note:**

> Hey everyone, here's a new story for y'all!  
> Go follow me on twitter at anonymousseal2

**_1986_ **

_Shawn Spencer and his father, Henry, sat in a diner having just finished their lunch. Shawn hardly listened to his dad talk as his mind kept switching between the cake he wanted and the cute twins sitting at the counter. The girl was blonde with blue eyes, and the boy was a brunette with lighter blue eyes. Both were exactly his type for their respective genders._

_Shawn had known he was bisexual for awhile, and his hyper-observant parents started to notice too. He broached the topic with his mom first, but she believed it was a phase. Henry didn’t exactly approve, having wanted grandkids, but honestly just wanted his son to be happy. So obviously, Shawn only ever discussed that part of himself with Henry, and his father did his best to support his child._

_"Shawn, did you do your homework?"_

_"Yes," Shawn answered distractedly._

_"Finish those beets?"_

_"Yep. Can I have the fudge cake?"_

_Henry smiled just slightly. "Quit staring at those twins and close your eyes."_

_"Dad- I don't want to-"_

_"Now." Shawn sighed but obeyed and put his fingers to his temples. "Which letter is out in the exit sign?"_

_"The X."_

_"What color is the vinyl?"_

_"What's vinyl?" Shawn looked confused._

_"It's the stuff these seats are covered in."_

_"Purple."_

_"Maroon. Close enough. Manager's name."_

_“Who?”_

_“She's wearing a name tag. The woman standing at the front door when we first walked in. You saw her.”_

_“Marie.” Shawn sighed. “Can I have the cake now?”_

_“How many hats?”_

_“Come on, dad!”_

_“Shawn, you want a piece of cake? How many hats are in the room?”_

_“Does a beanie count?”_

_“What do you think?”_

_“Three.”_

_“You didn't describe them.” Henry knew his kid could easily do it._

_“That's not fair.”_

_“Time's almost up, Shawn.”_

_Shawn quickly ran through the memories in his head. “One has a flower, the one the lady's wearing. One has a picture of some kind of lion on the weird guy with the crooked tooth. The last one is on the chef.”_

_“What about the beanie?”_

_“A beanie's a cap, not a hat.”_

_Henry smiled. “All right, open your eyes."_

_“Thank you.”_

_Henry waved down the waitress. “Get him his cake.” The waitress brought it to them with a smile._

_Henry laid money on the table and stood. “I’m going across the street to the hardware store. Why don’t you share that cake with someone?” He smiled slightly and left the diner._

_Shawn looked between his cake and the twins. He jumped to his feet and headed over to the counter._

* * *

**Present - 2006**

Shawn backed into his dark apartment. He stumbled a bit as his companion shut the door behind them. He steadied himself before pulling the tall, muscular, blonde waiter into another frantic kiss. They stumbled, kissed, and roamed their hands all over each other before dropping on the couch; they landed on the remote, subsequently turning on the TV.

The blonde straddled Shawn and kissed his jaw and neck, causing Shawn to moan. His eyes fluttered closed, but not before catching what was on the TV. He grabbed the remote and turned up the volume as the blonde circled his hips. Shawn moaned loudly.

“-at a loss. We really don’t know what else to do.” The manager on the TV fidgeted and looked extremely guilty to Shawn’s hyper-observant eyes once he refocused. He struggled to reach the phone and his companion noticed.

“What are you doing?” His voice, rough with lust, almost caused Shawn to throw the phone across the room and get to the sex already.

“Just- calling the cops real quick.”

“Why?” The blonde started to climb off. Shawn quickly pulled him back down.

“Nothing bad. I think I just solved a case.”

“You didn’t mention that you were a cop.” The blonde nipped at Shawn’s neck.

“Oh hell no. I’m definitely not a cop.”

“Do you have handcuffs?”

Shawn groans. “Yes.” The call goes through. “Hello..uh it’s the store manager…he did it. The stereo robberies…he’s on channel 8 news right now…his hands are a nervous tic. And he won’t look the reporter in the eyes…My name? My name is Shawn Spencer.” Shawn hung up and tossed the phone away. He kissed the blonde again and switched their positions.

* * *

Shawn strolled into the Santa Barbara Police Department. He glanced around the familiar place that hadn’t changed since he was a kid, noting each escape route. He wondered if Carl-. Nope. He quickly pushed the thoughts away.

Shawn rubbed his sore wrists gently as he walked up to the counter. “Hello, officer.”

“But you gotta go. It was awesome…Well, yeah…yeah.” She didn’t listen to Shawn at all.

“Hi.” Shawn tried to get her attention. “I’m Shawn Spencer.” He noticed a few dream catchers and crystals on her desk. Really?

The officer shot him a dark look and pointed to the waiting bench.

“No, that’s not for me. I’m here for a commendation. I called in a tip. These are new pants.”

She glared at him and pointed to the bench once again. Shawn rolled his eyes and walked over to sit next to the waiting criminal.

During their short conversation, Shawn advised the guy to wipe off the glass shards and rolled his eyes, once again, at the criminal’s idiocy when the shards ended up in his boot. He also noticed an officer practicing a waltz in the copy room.

A tall, dirty blonde detective walked up to the bench. “Right this way, Mr-“

“Spencer.” Shawn easily noticed they were heading towards the holding cells and interrogation rooms. “Um, so when do I get my money?”

“Money?”

“Yeah. The reward. You guys arrested the store manager.” He was led into the interrogation room. _Fuck._ “Am I right?” He saw a bland room, with a metal table and chairs. There was a two-way mirror and a tall, brunette sitting at the table. _Hold on…_

“Why don't you let us ask the questions for awhile.” The male detective turned around. Those blue eyes-

* * *

_1998_

_“Damn.” Shawn Spencer stared across the bar. Sitting at a far table, alone, was a tall, muscular brunette with striking blue eyes. The man wore black pants and a tighter blue shirt that made his eyes shine. Shawn could tell from how the man sat that he wasn’t quite as confident as he was trying to be and with the way he shifted in his t-shirt, that he wasn’t used to wearing clothes like that. He didn’t see anything indicating that this guy was here to pick up another dude, but he knew this guy wanted a hook up, and damn it if Shawn wasn’t going to try._

_Shawn ordered two whiskeys and carried them over to the table. He slid one over to the man and then took the seat across from him. The man, with an eyebrow raised, took a sip of his original drink. He barely glanced at the offered whiskey before nudging it to the side._

_“Don’t like free drinks?”_

_“I still have my own, thanks though.”_

_Shawn smiled as the brunette gives him a long once over. He shifted his legs to sit with them a little wider. “My name’s Shawn.”_

_“And why do I need to know it?”_

_“That’s true, you don’t. But it’s nice to have a name to say at climax, isn’t it?”_

_The man laughed. Shawn noticed a shine in his eyes, likely from his slight buzz and actual amusement. The man laid cash on the table and headed out of the bar, merely giving a slight head nod to Shawn. He followed._

* * *

_Shawn laid naked on his bed, still catching his breath. In the low lighting, he watched as his companion got himself dressed. Shawn enjoyed the view, disappointed when the man pulled on his shirt._

_“Next time, you should try a V-neck, show a little stern bush. It’s attractive.”_

_“I’ll keep that in mind.” With that said, the man left his room, and then the apartment._

_“Damn.” Shawn knew that was one to remember. As he got up to shower, Shawn took pride in the small moment of hesitation his partner showed before getting out of bed. Obviously, they’d both be remembering it._

_After his shower, Shawn was thrilled to see a note with a pager number and name on it. Carlton. His short visit wouldn’t be boring after all._

* * *

Shawn smiled at the sight of the blue-eyed detective. There was a man he never knew if he’d see again. “So which questions might those be? Hm?” He was definitely pleased to see the shock on the detective’s face. Detective Carlton Lassiter quickly scanned over the file again, not understanding its contents.

Lassiter looked back up at Shawn. A plethora of emotions played out on his face. Shock. Doubt. Confusion. Anger. Hope. Then back to anger.

The female detective spoke up. “Like where you were the night of the last robbery?”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “I was robbing a stereo shop.”

It was Lassiter’s turn to roll his eyes. He stood and gave his seat to his partner. She glanced at him with affection. Interesting. He, however, avoided her gaze, without being obvious. He played with a piece of her hair, but he paid her no mind, eyes only on Shawn. What happened to his marriage?

“I wasn’t. Man, I don’t know. I guess I was doing the same thing you were doing, not solving crime.” Shawn may still be bitter from how things ended…he also didn’t understand why he was being interrogated, the real reason for the insults. Obviously.

“You’re not helping your case here.” The woman detective said.

“My case. Wait, wait, wait. I’m actually a suspect?” Seriously?

“Oh you’re our lead suspect.” Now Lassiter looked way too eager to get rid of him.

“I gave you the guy.”

“He had a partner.” Lassiter leaned forward on the table.

“I have to find that guy? I’m confused. When do you guys start chipping in?”

“See your information was good. So good, it could only have come from the inside.”

“Inside of what? Look, I’ve called in dozens of tips, okay? Just check it out.” Shawn knew Lassiter couldn’t be this stupid. His partner watched the two of them like a tennis match.

“I did. I checked out a whole lot of stuff.” He flipped open the file again and took a seat next to his partner. “Like, oh, you’re currently unemployed. You’ve never held a job for than six months. And, you have a criminal record.”

Shawn scoffed. “I was 18.”

“Oh, 18? Well that makes it okay. Let me just scratch this out.” Lassiter couldn’t have spoke with more sarcasm if he tried.

“I borrowed a car.”

“You stole a car.”

“To impress a girl.”

The woman finally decided to intervene. “Look, forgive us Mr. Spencer, if this seems far-fetched.” Shawn almost forgot she was there. He kept his eyes on Lassiter.

“Would it help at all if I told you that she had a bit of a reputation and I was 0 for, high school?” The detectives didn’t care. “Okay, fine. There were extenuating circumstances. The arresting officer was my father. He was trying to teach me a lesson.”

“Did you learn it?” Lassiter already knew the story. Why did he have to be an ass?

Shawn shot Lassiter an irritated look. “I learned I hated my father. So sure.”

“Pardon me if I’m just a little skeptical. Believable as it is that you solved all these crimes- I’m sorry, what was it?” He glanced down at the file again. “Watching the local Channel 8 news reports.”

Honestly, two could play at this game. “I confess. That’s not true. Sometimes I watch Channel 5. I prefer Channel 8. The weather girl? Adorable.”

“So you’re telling us that you can read guilt off of TV interviews?” The female detective looked highly skeptical.

“Can’t you?”

“Don’t you try and trivialize police work.” All sarcasm turned to anger.

“I think you’re doing a bang-up job of that all by yourself. You can’t keep me here, guys. I know my rights.” Shawn stood and headed for the door. Outside it, the dancing officer from earlier, McNab according to his name tag, blocked his path.

“Good. Then you know you have the right to remain silent. You have the right to an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you.”

Shawn looked at Lassiter in disbelief. “Wait, wait, wait. You’re serious?”

His ex smiled. “A few hours in a holding cell might jog your memory.”

Shawn scoffed. He had seen people that would be Boogiemen compared to those Tooth Fairies in the cells. Lassiter and his partner stood and cornered Shawn between them and their officers.

“Just give us a reason, Mr. Spencer. That’s all we need. How did you get this information?”

“No. It’s too late for that. Officer Allen, book him.” The desk officer from the lobby started to cuff him.

“Book him? Oh come on, cuffs? What, for the walk back to the lobby?”

“Or you could give us a plausible explanation.” The shorter detective didn’t appear to want to put Shawn in a cell.

“I -” Shawn glanced around for a way out. The crystal necklace worn by Allen. Perfect. He threw his hands up in surrender, even though it went against all his training. He doesn’t surrender. “Okay, Okay. Fine. You win. I got the information because I am a psychic.”

Allen dropped her cuffs. Shawn smirked at Lassiter’s frustrated expression.

“Get him out of here.”

Shawn gasped and fell against the door. “Oh boy!” He looked at Allen. “Your grandma would be so proud.”

“You spoke to her?” Officer Allen looked thrilled.

“I did. She’s safe, comfortable. She wants you to stop spending all your money on those charlatans.” Because it’s all a scam.

Allen nodded. “The palm readers.”

“The palm readers.”

The female detective, man Shawn needed to learn her name, looked confused. “Okay, just to be clear, um, you’re claiming to be a psychic, Mr. Spencer.”

“How else would I know you two are sleeping together?” Maybe she could stay nameless, she won’t be staying long with that out in the air. Lassiter looked ready to throttle him.

Shawn directed to a beat. “One, two, three. One, two, three. One-” He pointed to McNab. “When’s the wedding?”

McNab smiled. “May 3rd…wait, how did you know?”

Shawn pretended to interpret the spirits. “I’m getting dance lessons for a wedding reception…and might I add, you are getting good.”

McNab was starstruck. “Wow. That’s amazing.”

“Oh come on! This is ridiculous.”

“Need more proof?” Shawn couldn’t wait to piss Lassiter off even more. “Go to detention room number two. You’ll find all the evidence you need is in” He shook his left foot around. “In his left shoe.”

Lassiter pushed past Shawn with a hard shove. “We’ll be back in three minutes, with my own cuffs.” His partner followed him.

Shawn smiled. “Kinky.” He followed the two officers back to the lobby. Maybe he’d get to talk to Carly- Lassiter alone when he gets back.

* * *

Carlton Lassiter leaned against the wall that led to the interrogation rooms. His partner, Detective Lucinda Barry, stood next to him. The two of them watched Shawn show off his “gift” to any officer that would listen.

“It was a lucky guess.” First Shawn reentered his life, then made a joke of his profession. Now he wanted Shawn to leave, it’s his specialty after all.

“Lucky guess?”

“He planted it. I don’t know. But psychics don’t exist.”

Lucinda shrugged. “His alibi checks.”

“I want him gone.”

Lucinda looked at her partner. “He really got under your skin.”

“He’s an asshole. I’m going to get coffee. Want your usual?” He barely waited for a nod before heading out of the station.

Carlton was feet from his car when heard his past coming to back to haunt him.

“Lassie-Detective Lassiter!” Carlton debated running and then speeding off in his Crown Vic, but knew it would only delay the inevitable.

“Spencer.” Carlton turned to face the last person he wanted to see.

Shawn sighed. “Lassiter.”

“Come to give me a psychic reading? Didn’t know they taught people to be psychics in the military. Oh wait, that was bullshit. You really worked in a coffee house, a wiener-mobile, and even an acupuncture clinic. When would you have time to be in the Special Forces?” Carlton finally let go of that pent-up rage from the last hour.

Shawn was losing his edge, because that was not what he expected to discuss first. He hesitantly stepped closer, trying not to set off the rabid dog that is Carlton Lassiter. “…Lassie, I promise I didn’t lie about the military. Some…stuff happened, and I got a file created in place of the one with my military background.”

“You can’t even lie properly!”

“Lassie.”

“Don’t call me that, Spencer!”

Shawn held his hands up placatingly. “Head Detective Lassiter, you need to quit yelling and chill. Okay? I have to lie because it’s classified. I know someone like you respects the Armed Forces and will respect that things are classified. And especially as Head Detective, you know that certain people are just not allowed to have cake because they’re gluten free and lactose intolerant. If they’re given cake there will be consequences, yeah? Like you don’t give cake to civilians, I can’t give you the cake that is my Special Forces background.”

And, there’s the Shawn Spencer that Carlton remembered. He bit his cheek to keep from smiling even a little. “Spencer, that was the worst reasoning for classified information I have ever heard.”

Shawn shrugged with a smile. “You’re not screaming anymore, so that’s a win. Now…about that military background…” He rubbed his neck. “I need you not to tell people about it…I need to stay on the down-low and keep with the false background…so…”

“Which includes being a fake psychic?”

“I am a psychic.”

“No, you’re full of shit and lies. But you’re done here, so who the hell cares.” He walked over and climbed into his car. “I don’t care if you were military. I don’t care if you’re psychic. All I care about is that you now stay out of my station and my life.” He slammed the door behind him and was speeding off before Shawn could stop him.

* * *

Shawn was greeted by a pregnant Chief of Police standing next to his motorcycle. She held out her hand. “Karen Vick, interim police chief.”

He shook it with a relaxed grip. “I know.”

“Heard what you did in there.”

“Oh, you’re welcome.” He went for a charming smile, but he knew the Chief wasn’t thrilled with him lying to her people.

“That wasn’t the phrase I was going to use. I was going to say improbable.” She smiled. “Possible, yet unlikely.”

He shrugged. It was definitely not his best lie. “What can I say? I’m gifted. I was born this way.”

“I knew your father. He was a good cop.” Shawn nodded reluctantly. “You’re nothing like him.”

Shawn’s smile grew. “I take that as a compliment, ma’am.”

“Don’t ever call me “ma’am.””

He grabbed his helmet. “Am I still free to go?” She wanted something. Get to the point.

“You familiar with the McCallum family?”

“Of course. They own half the hill.”

“Well, there’s been a kidnapping.” And there it is.

“I had nothing to do with that.” He climbed on his bike.

“Would you like to? The Feds are itching to jump in on this case, and I need to make some progress. What I need is a miracle. Or a facsimile of one.”

How could Shawn deny someone like Karen when she was desperate. “Sure. I’ll even do this pro bono.” He winked.

Karen smiled. Her now cold eyes showed how she got to be Chief. “And if this psychic thing is a scam, we will prosecute. You know hindering a police investigation is a criminal offense.”

Fucking hell. “I nev-.” He stopped himself and nodded. “Sounds good.”

Chief Vick hobbled back up the stairs of the precinct.

Well, he may as well have fun with it.

* * *

Shawn strutted into Gus’ office with pineapple smoothies. He took everything in about the room in seconds. Computer games? Seriously? “I’ve got a job for you!”

Gus rolled his eyes. “I already have a job.”

“Really? They’re paying you to play video games?”

Gus, the epitome of a deer in headlights, sputtered. “How do you do that?”

“Come on. Left hand space bar; right hand arrow keys.” He handed his best friend the second smoothie, once he finished looking put out. “You should ask me a challenging question every once in awhile, just for kicks.”

Gus leaned back in his chair and sipped his smoothie. “I can’t go anywhere, I’m behind on my route. I got new samples of ceromoxicyllan.”

“Oh, man. I’m sorry.” He held a hand to his chest. “I didn’t realize the new butt cream had come in. So you’re not interested in helping me with a job, which might I add, is something we’ve dreamed of doing since we were eight?”

Gus silently returned to his work, uninterested. Exaggerated facial expressions, raised shoulders. Scratch that, definitely interested.

“Come with me.”

“Uh, no. I’m never doing anything blindly with you again.” He turned and paused, seeing Shawn had silently gotten candy from his drawer. How did he do that? “..I learned that at the Mexican border, twice.”

“Okay, fine. But bear with me on this one. We’re going to be psychic detectives!”

“Oh! See? No explanation necessary.” He pretended to stand. “Let me get my coat.” He went back to playing his game.

“Gus, that’s not getting your coat.”

“You’re right Shawn, I’m not.”

Shawn sighed exaggeratedly. “All right, you want to sweat the details? Fine. The cops think I’m a psychic, and now we are investigating a kidnapping.”

And Shawn’s finally had one concussion too many. “You can’t be serious.”

“Of course I’m serious!” He sat on the edge of his friend’s desk. “Six days ago, Camden McCallum Jr., sole male heir to McCallum Textiles, was seen being forced into his Range Rover at the municipal dog park. No one’s seen him or the dog since.”

“They took the dog?”

Hook, line and sinker. Shawn smiled. “You see what I mean? I need you!”

Gus rolled his eyes. “You were a Special Forces Intelligence Sergeant. You don’t need me for this.”

“Just for today. I can even show you what the forensics guys do wrong.” Lights back in his eyes. Perfect.

* * *

They left Shawn’s bike at the Gus’ work and took the blue Echo, lovingly called the “Blueberry.”

“Now pay attention.” Shawn read off the papers he was given. “18 months ago, Camden McCallum ran his father’s cigarette boat into the Morro Bay Aquarium. That was right after he got caught with that hockey player’s wife.”

Gus nodded along. “Yeah, I remember that.”

“Guy hadn’t been out of the papers in five years. Since that day, nothing. Not a single news story. Not so much as a dented motorcycle.”

“Okay. What do you think?”

“I think Camden McCallum was too good at what he does to stop. He was having fun. Beautiful women, fast cars. If he stopped cold turkey, something definitely caused it.”

Gus agreed. “So how is doing all this keeping your head down? You told me you were meant to lay low.”

“It’s just one case, Gus. From what I’ve seen, those officers need all the help they can get.”

Gus nodded.

* * *

Gus and Shawn climbed out of the Blueberry. “How should we introduce ourselves? Don’t say “psychic.” They’ll shut you off. Say something vague.” He followed Shawn over to the trash cans. “Like Alternative Tactics Division.”

Shawn was taking everything in. The cars in the driveway, their license plate numbers, how many seconds it would take to hop the wall, who just brought out the latest trash bin. “Uh huh. I was thinking the Bureau of Magic and Spell Casting.”

From that tone, Gus knew Shawn wasn’t even listening. “Seriously, rooting through the trash?”

Shawn already had a plastic glove on and was digging through the garbage with efficiency. “Everything you need is right in front of you. You just have to pay attention to it.” Broken lampshade, trash bags, dog food bags. Bingo. For Gus’ sake, he explained his thought process. “See? Berenson’s brand. High quality dog food, no additives, and no preservatives. There’s no reason they should have three bags opened simultaneously with one dog.”

Shawn put all the trash back and threw away his glove.

“Do you keep gloves in your jacket?”

“That’s what you took from all that? Yes, I grabbed some at your office before we left.” He led the way inside. “Now is it entirely too early for me to have a theory?”

Gus sighed. “For the role we have, yes. For the experience you actually have, no.”

“Okay, then we’ll look at more evidence.” He shrugged and they entered the house.

Everyone looked their way, and Shawn took it in stride. Gus immediately panicked.

“They know.”

“What?”

“Shawn, they know. I can feel it.”

“Great, now we’re both psychic.”

Gus nudged his friend, hard. “You’re not psychic.”

They kept their voices down and headed into the photo filled, two-story entry. “Let’s be clear on one thing. The only way they can absolutely prove that I am not psychic, is if I tell them. For the sake of my career, that is one thing I will never do.”

“Oh. What are your superiors going to think of this stunt?”

Family pictures. More photos of the daughter than the son. He heard steps upstairs, heading their way. “Now is not the time for that question Gus.” He paused. “I love a woman who reads Vonnegut.”

“Really, now?” The woman in question appeared on the stairs.

Shawn winked at Gus before turning around.

“I’m Katarina McCallum.”

“Well, I’m thoroughly embarrassed. I’m sorry.” He held out his hand. “I’m Shawn Spencer. The chief called me in.” He held her hand an extra second. “Everything’s gonna be okay.”

She smiled gratefully. “Thank you for saying that. I have the same feeling.”

“Sibling intuition. Keep hold of that.”

The three of them headed into the main rooms of the house. 17 officers. The Chief. Head and Junior Detective. 15 windows in total, 5 of which don’t open. Photo albums. Shawn smiled at Katarina once more before heading that way. He opened the photo albums.

“What are we looking for?”

Shawn lowered his voice. “Houses in the family for hide out. Friends of relevance. Vehicles of interest.” He noticed a few photos of Camden’s friend Malcolm with a much younger dog at a cabin. When looking in more recent photos, Malcom in nowhere to be found. Interesting.

“Shawn, slow down. How can you process anything flipping that fast?”

Shawn smirked. “I’m psychic, Gus. I just need to glance the photos to feel what I need.”

Gus rolled his eyes and popped one of his samples.

“Is it ethical to sample your own samples? Seriously, Gus it’ll be fine. You can leave if you need to, but they don’t know. Promise.”

“Mr. Spencer.” Gus jumped. Lucinda raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “The sketch artist is here for you.”

“Sketch artist?”

“Chief insisted.”

“Fantastic. Gus, chill. I’ll be right back.” He walked off. Now, who to have them sketch. He had a hunch, but they needed more than hunches and gut feelings in law enforcement. Camden it is then.

Gus joined him twenty minutes later as the artist was finishing the sketch. “The missing guy? Seriously, Shawn?”

Katarina and the detectives walked over. “Cam? What, why?”

Shawn was ready. “I had a vision. I saw his face, which is great. It means he’s still okay.”

Katarina smiled.

Gus pulled Shawn away. “How could you tell her that? You have no idea if he’s okay.”

Shawn shrugged. “I purposely said ‘still’ in case he isn’t. But my gut says he is, Gus. Oh! Mr. McCallum. I have a question for you.”

Mr. McCallum turned to him. Huh. Seems there is another skeptic in the building.

“Just one question, sir. How did he feel about the dog?”

“Well, he loved the damn thing. Didn’t do anything without it.”

Shawn nodded. “Thank you, sir.” The man couldn’t seem to walk away fast enough. He walked back to his friend.

“That’s it? Seriously, I get you know what you’re doing, but even pros need to ask more than just about the dog.”

“Want me to explain some forensics to you?”

Sometimes, Gus felt whiplash with how Shawn jumped topics. “Absolutely.”

When Gus had to get back to finish some paperwork, Shawn let him go. He was hoping to talk to Katarina again, as well as Lassie. Speaking of which, the detective hadn’t stayed in the same room as him for more than a minute. All he had wanted for Shawn to leave his life. He would. After they talked again. And solved a kidnapping.

* * *

Shawn used a device in his jacket that gave him numbers off phones nearby. After borrowing Lucinda’s phone briefly, he had Lassie’s number, plus several others that could come in handy. He was glad he thought ahead, because the Head Detective snuck out while he was upstairs with Katarina.

Shawn texted Carlton, then proceeded to stay up all night hoping for a response. After two hours, he grabbed his go-case and went off to do some recon. By midnight, he had everything he needed. Civilian cases were a breeze. He then proceeded to sit in the parking lot of Gus’s complex until sunrise, making sure everything connected.

At 5:45 he used his friend’s key and entered his apartment. By 6:05 he had coffee ready and photos laid out. He slammed a few cabinets until he heard Gus in the hall.

“AH!” Gus ran in with his samples case, ready to swing.

“Oh, Gus. I hate to imagine what the rest of your plan was. I gave you a metal bat so you wouldn’t have to do this.” He handed Gus coffee once his hands were free. “Also, fake rock. Far less effective on the second-floor landing. Now sit. I solved the case.”

Gus followed, still trying to catch up. They sat at the kitchen table. “Alright, who kidnapped him?”

Shawn smiled. “Nobody.”

“Perfect! Call the Chief at home. Tell her the crime is solved. Because apparently, we imagined the whole thing!”

“You done? Now, nobody kidnapped him, because he did it himself.”

“Come on.”

Shawn shrugged. “See for yourself.” He slides his tablet to Gus, already displaying photos from last night.

“Dude, is this a tablet?” Of course Gus was more intrigued by the device than the case.

“Yes, it’s a tablet. No, you can’t get one. They’re not on the market yet. I got it through work, hence I never showed it to you until now. Now focus.” He used the pen tool to click through the photos for Gus.

Clear as could be were photos of Malcom and Camden at a small cabin. They sat at a fire, with the dog running after a ball. Even in the dusk lighting, there was no mistaking them. All the photos were timestamped as well.

“So here’s the thing. Camden didn’t offer to clean up his act voluntarily. Apparently, Daddy threatened to cut him off permanently. This was about 18 months ago.”

Gus looked up from the tablet. “18 months?”

“But wait, there’s more. He had help.” Shawn points to the other male in the photos. “Malcom Orso. He’s the only friend of Camden’s that didn’t go on to fame, fortune, or rehab.”

“But the cops must’ve talked to him.”

“Nope! That’s the thing. Malcom hasn’t been seen with Camden for quite some time. To be exact-.”

“18 months.”

“Almost to the day. They’d been planning this thing for over a year.”

“Shawn, this is good. Where did you get all this?”

Shawn shrugged and took their empty mugs to the sink. “I talked to Katarina last night about Malcom and Camden. The cabin I saw in some photos. Pulled all the timing together with what I learned. Then I got the photos last night when I went to the cabin.”

“Damn, son.”

Shawn smiled. “Wanna join me for another day of being a psychic?”

“How are you going to reveal what you know without revealing that you aren’t a psychic?”

“That’s part of the fun. Now go put some clothes on, the detectives are meeting for breakfast at 7!” Gus hurries off to get changed. Shawn spots his favorite fruit. “Should I slice this up for the road?” He quickly set off slicing it without listening for the response.

* * *

It definitely ruined the morning vibe when an officer pulled them over for speeding.

“Dad card or military card?”

Shawn sighed. “Dad card sadly. I’m not military in this town right now.”

The officer reached their window. “Morning, gentlemen.”

“Hello, Officer.” He handed the officer his license and registration. Stuck in between was his dad’s business card.

“What’s this?”

“Whoops. It’s my dad’s old police business card. Must’ve stuck to my ID. Guess I’ve been carrying that in my wallet for ages. Can never be too careful coming from a family of cops.”

“Henry Spencer’s your dad?”

Regrettably. “Yes. Yes, he is.”

“Well how’d old Henry doing?”

“He’s great. Retired. Was living in Miami, but he’s been back for almost a year now I think.”

“Oh yeah, I saw him just three weeks ago at Home Depot. Tell your dad the King Fisher says hello.” The officer hands back the cards. 

“Will do. Thank you, Officer.” Shawn smiled until they pulled back onto the road.

“Why didn’t you tell me your dad was back at the house?”

“It didn’t matter until he reached out. Which he hasn’t. I had enough on my plate without his nose in my business.”

Gus nodded in understanding.

* * *

“All right, Gus, let me do the talking.”

“Is that even an option?”

Shawn pushed Gus towards the detectives.

“Detectives! Detectives!”

What a way to ruin a day. Carlton already ignored Shawn’s text and the man himself. Why couldn’t he get the message. He just wanted eggs and coffee. Was that too much to ask?

“We have a breakthrough! It’s important.”

“I also have something important. I call it breakfast. Make an appointment.”

Shawn was reaching the end of his patience for Carlton. “But this is-“

“Stop. You don’t have my interest. You don’t have my ear. Find a beat cop. Tell your story. Maybe I’ll read the report. Good day, gentlemen. After you.” He opened the diner door for Lucinda.

“Detective! Don’t sit by the window. I forecast rain.”

Carlton rolled his eyes. He made sure to request the window booth. The skies were clear and he wanted to prove Shawn that he wouldn’t listen to him anymore. Lucinda sighed but followed.

“You’re mad because he pegged us as a couple.”

“He was tipped off. Did you tell anyone?”

“Why would I tell anyone? Let everyone think I’m working my way up the ladder the hard way? You’re barely separated.”

Carlton sighed. This again. “It’s been five months.”

* * *

“So the plan was to annoy them into believing you? I expected better.”

“Janice works the table by the window.”

“So?”

“So? Janice always chomps her gum, causing spit to rain on the customers if they don’t know how to handle her.”

A few moments later, they watch as Lassiter stormed out of the restaurant. He crossed the street. “What, Spencer?! I am done with your shit.”

“It’s not shit, I had a vision, Lassie-frass. I saw red and yellow kayaks. The numbers 8, 1, and 3. And a road sign! It had bullet holes, two of them!”

“That’s it, Spencer. I’m arresting your ass.”

“Wait!” Shawn clutched his head before falling into Carlton, who caught him on instinct. “I- I’m getting more! I see a dog, and bones. No, wait, rawhides.” He leans his head back to see Carlton. “The numbers, they’re for a highway.”

“There’s no highway 813.” Carlton pushed Shawn into Gus.

“But there’s a highway 138.” Lucinda spoke up from behind the men. “It’s worth checking out.”

“For fuck’s sake. Fine. But we’re stopping for coffee.” Carlton led the way to his car.

Shawn tried not to be thrilled that Carlton remembered how he took his coffee.

* * *

_Shawn would normally wait three days to call, but he was only in town for another week. He dialed the pager number and then waited. A few minutes later his phone rang._

_“Carlton Lassiter.”_

_“Hey Carlton, it’s Shawn. I was wondering if you wanted to grab coffee today?”_

_“Sure. Does 2pm work?”_

_“That’s perfect. Café Aroma?”_

_“I’ll see you there, Shawn.” Carlton hung up._

_Shawn smiled. He showed up 5 minutes early to see Carlton already at an outside table. The man wore slacks and a button up with a tie. The tie was a deep blue, making his eyes glow. He definitely knew how to use his eyes to his advantage. His sleeves were rolled up to look casual and a weapon was holstered on his ankle. That means the undercover cop vehicle in the lot is likely Carlton’s. Detective. Interesting._

_Shawn walked over with a smile. “I feel a little underdressed. If I knew this was a fancy joint, I would have wore my bowtie T-shirt.”_

_“Of course that’s your idea of dressed up.” Carlton rolled his eyes but his mouth hinted at a smile. He took in Shawn’s black T-shirt and faded plaid shirt. “I came here from work. I have to be back in an hour.” He motioned for Shawn to sit._

_Shawn dropped into his chair. “What do you do?”_

_“I’m Head Detective of the SBPD.”_

_Shawn whistled in appreciation. “Impressive. No wonder you like to be in control, Carly.”_

_“You made me work for it, which was a nice change.”_

_Shawn watched Carlton’s body language. He tensed up early on, but as they exchanged quips, he seemed to relax. His posture stayed stiff however, hinting that he was used to being stern and tense, likely at work. “I’ve been climbing the totem pole on the daily. Doesn’t happen by rolling over.”_

_“Whose totem pole are you climbing?”_

_“United States Army. Just finished Special Forces training.” Carlton looked skeptical. “I know, there’s many points of craziness in that statement. “Don’t Ask Don’t Tell.” I have a cuddly appearance and puppy dog eyes. Oh and I don’t sit like I have a stick up my ass. But it’s true. I’m a Green Beret.”_

_Carlton smiled. Shawn did appear cuddly. “Okay. I’ll go get us some drinks, then you can tell me how someone so soft earned a Green Beret.”_

_“I’m not soft! I’m cuddly. There’s a major difference Carly.”_

_Carlton stands. “Whatever you say. What can I get you?”_

_“Cinnamon Latte.”_

_Cinnamon. Military. A man truly after Carlton’s heart._


	2. Pilot Part Two

Carlton immediately called for backup when they saw the dog outside the house.

Shawn and Gus watched as S.W.A.T. was called in and entered the house. Then when they exited the detectives, police chief and forensics entered. Something was wrong. They should have brought the two men out. They were their own kidnappers, that amount of forensics crew and paramedics shouldn’t be needed. “We need to get in there.”

“Shawn, they told us to stay out. You didn’t help by asking S.W.A.T. to issue you a luger.”

“It was a joke! I spew shit when I’m focused elsewhere.” Shawn walked towards the house with Gus following reluctantly. “We both know I’m qual-“

“Oh, watch out!” Gus jumped back as Camden’s golden retriever ran up to them. Shawn immediately crouched down to play with the dog.

“Watch out for what? It’s tongue?”

“That thing could be vicious!”

“Oh yeah. Diabolical even with its calculated decoy tail wagging.” Shawn petted the energetic dog, but frowned at the blood on its face. Interesting.

“That’s blood on its whiskers!”

Shawn stood up and started heading towards the house again. “Yeah, it’s blood.”

Gus flinched away when the dog headed towards him and followed Shawn. An officer walked over.

“Mr. Spencer, follow me.” The officer led them into the house.

Shawn could smell the blood before they entered. “Gus, buddy, I don’t think you should come in… I can sense it’s not pretty.” Shawn headed inside. Gus could make the choice himself.

“Fuck.” The sight was nothing new to him, but he saw these two guys less than 12 hours ago, joking around the fire.

He took in the scene with a sharp eye. One shot, seemingly suicide. One on the ground, blood on table edge suggests blunt force trauma. Potential accident. Coffee cup on ground. Coffee on stove. Coffee spilled from potential confrontation. But the gun… it’s held incorrectly for that kind of suicide. There’s no blood on his hands. The shot was close, that doesn’t add up.

Carlton stared at Shawn and watched as his eyes roamed the scene. He watched conclusions form and saw anger forming under the surface. This hadn’t been what Shawn claimed to see.

Shawn took a step forward and was stopped by an officer.

“Mr. Spencer, I will see you and Mr. Guster back at the station. You can leave.”

For a second, Carlton saw protest form on the tip of Shawn’s tongue, before he seemed to straighten his back, nod, and leave without a word. Guess the military was helpful after all. They didn’t need him spewing anymore psychic gibberish while they had a scene to wrap up.

* * *

Gus and Shawn headed to the station, stopping for lunch on the way. By the time they reached the station, Shawn was 99.99% certain that it was not murder-suicide. It didn’t add up like that.

They got to the station at the same time as the Chief and followed her inside. She spoke to them in their office and Shawn pretended to listen. His mind was racing through hundreds of scenarios.

“We’ll be sure to call on you again, Mr. Spenser. And even though this case didn’t end up exactly the way we hoped, I thank you for your services.” Shawn accepted the check and handed it to Gus.

“Thank you.” Gus smiled and stood to leave.

“You’re making a huge mistake. This case isn’t closed.”

The other room occupants stared in shock. “Pardon me?”

“Murder, suicide? Come on. You’re buying that?”

The Chief was not happy. “I’m not buying anything. Those are the facts.”

Gus interjected. “I’ll buy it.”

“I understand. I do. You’d like to shut the book on this as quickly as possible. It’s fine.” Shawn leaned forward, challenging the Chief. “Before they got the ransom money? Why? What did they have to fight about before they got the cash? They were chatting and fine just last night!” Shawn rose to his feet.

“Oh they were?”

“Yes! I saw them.”

The Chief sighed. “Psychic visions” weren’t going to help without proof. “Might I remind you Mr. Spencer-.”

“It’s Ser-.” Gus elbowed Shawn right in the ribs, cutting off his words.

“You are not a detective.”

“You’re right, but it doesn’t add up. Just look at the suicide! It was a sloppy cover-up!” People outside the office turned to look at the man yelling at their Chief.

“That’s enough, Mr. Spencer!” Shawn stepped back immediately and his arms went behind his back. He knew when authority needed to be respected.

“I just need to speak to the witnesses again.”

“Absolutely not. This conversation is over. Dismissed.” Chief pointed at the door. Gus dragged Shawn from the room.

“What are you doing? That was the Chief of Police. You have no authority here, Shawn.”

“They were alive just 12 hours before, Gus. Something happened. I’m missing something.” He noticed Mr. McCallum talking to the detectives. A bandage on his arm? That was not there yesterday. “I need to talk to that guy.” He headed for the conference room.

“Whoa, whoa. No. You’ve embarrassed us enough for one day.” Gus pulled Shawn to a halt.

“Just for a second. We’re brothers in arms; we’ll get along perfectly.”

“Make no mistake, Shawn, I will kill you. Let’s go.”

Shawn laughed. “I appreciate the fact that you think you can beat me up. Not including my training, our last scuffle even proves otherwise.”

“Are you talking about the Cinnamon Festival?”

“Yes, you do remember!”

“Okay. First of all, I was six. And I had a cast!”

“Which many would construe as a clear advantage. It’s like having a weapon attached to your arm.” Shawn swung his arm around in example. Their loud conversation and motions drew attention from many in the department.

Gus noticed the Chief looking their way. She was not pleased they were still on the premises. “Oh, great, now the Chief is staring right at us.” She spoke to the detectives and Lucinda headed out of the conference room and straight to them.

“Mr. McCallum!” Shawn rushed to the conference room.

Lucinda held out a hand and forced him to stop. “Chief wants them left alone.”

“Well, we all want to be left alone.”

“Some more than others.”

“What’s with his wrist?”

If Lucinda was affected by the whiplash topic change, she didn’t blink an eye. “You don’t give up, do you?”

“I do give up. All the time. Mostly before I was 4 feet tall. But not until the moment is right. Now come on. I know you don’t think this adds up either.” Shawn knew he’d get more from her than Carlton.

Lucinda lowered her voice. “Okay, rumor is he tried to off himself.”

“Off himself.” Okay, maybe Carlton actually would give him more. “The war hero? The man who’s seen everything? No. That’s not it. That’s definitely not it.”

“You know everything, don’t you?”

“It’s scary, isn’t it? Something is going on, and I’m gonna find out what it is.”

Carlton left the conference room and headed towards them, ready to forcibly remove Shawn from his life. “No. You’re not going anywhere near that man.” He wrapped his arm around Shawn’s shoulders and walked him away from the Chief and Mr. McCallum. He led his ex away from everyone. “In fact, Spencer, I’m going to make certain you never hear from the department again.”

“I’m getting strong vibrations that you might be wrong.” He motioned to Gus to not follow them as Carlton led him down an empty hallway.

“Quit the bullshit. I know you and your past, at least whatever lies you told me. Whether you’re military or an idiot, I know for a fact that you’re not a psychic. You’re messing with real police work and treating it like some game.” Carlton blocked Shawn against the wall. “Two people are dead because of it. I saw your shock. You last saw them alive.”

Carlton caught Shawn off-guard again. He couldn’t even come up with a response before Carly kept talking.

“I don’t know how you knew where they were, but I have a feeling you postponed informing us so you could act your part.” He tapped Shawn’s temple for emphasis. “They’re dead because you’re waltzing around here putting on a show. This is real life, Shawn. Start acting like an adult.” Carlton stepped back.

“Whoa, hold on a second.” He yanked Carlton back, stopping him from storming off. Carlton stumbled back into his space, placing their faces mere inches apart. “I never lied to you, Carly. I have been in the military for 11 years and am a Sergeant First Class. For classified reasons I am on leave until further notice, with a completely new history. Yesterday morning I came in and was treated like a low-life criminal for offering a tip and when you didn’t believe me, you forced my hand.” He planted a hand on Carlton’s chest and shoved him back a step. “I am psychic. Maybe I don’t need all the theatrics, but don’t think for a second, I don’t know this is real. Very real. At the moment, I am the only one is this building who doesn’t have their head up their ass. This case isn’t over.”

Shawn slipped something into Carlton’s pocket before storming off. He needed Carly to take his word and keep looking into the case. He walked straight into Gus who had seen most of their close conversation.

They walked to the Blueberry in silence and Shawn ignored how his heart still skipped a beat being that close to Carlton Lassiter. Once in the safety of their fruit-named vehicle Gus turned to his best friend. “Is there something I don’t know?”

“Remember those couple years I visited a ton and claimed it was because I missed your shiny melon.”

Gus nodded. “And I claimed you were seeing someone…Oh. My. God!”

Shawn smiled sheepishly. “Yeah, I was kind of seeing Lassie.”

“Detective Lassiter?! He looks like he hates your guts. What the hell did you do?!”

“I didn’t do anything! Have a little faith. We never had a future, I guess he realized that. I came back from that tough mission in 2001, and he was engaged.” Shawn shrugged. “Now can you drop me off at my bike? I need to clear my head.”

* * *

_1998_

_Carlton glanced around the bedroom he’d become accustomed to for the past two days. He finished buckling his belt when he realized he was staring, again. He leaned against the dresser. His shirt could wait._

_The man before him may as well have been sculpted from tan stone. Carlton’s eyes trailed down the chiseled muscles, remembering how each one felt under his hands. His gaze stopped at the waistband of the man’s jeans, before returning upward, taking in each scar that marred the smooth skin. He subconsciously licked his lips as he committed the intricate Special Forces tattoo to memory. Crisscrossed arrows were under an up facing dagger and surrounded by a black banner with the phrase “De Oppresso Libre.” Below the insignia reads two words: Hell Hounds. From the few details Carlton was given, that’s the name the man’s team goes by._

_“If you keep staring like that, I guarantee we both will be late.” Shawn stopped shoving his few belongings into a duffle bag to smile over at Carlton. “Your shirt is on the couch, by the way.”_

_Carlton smiled and left the room to collect his shirt. In the two days he’d know Shawn, it seemed that the man could always tell what he was thinking. In those two days, he’d grown to enjoy Shawn’s energetic, childlike personality mixed with a mature intelligence that matched, if not surpassed Carlton’s own. That man in the other room was a walking contradiction._

_Sadly, Carlton had to go to work and Shawn had a plane to catch._

_Shawn sashayed out of the bedroom with his packed bag. “Alright, Carly Town, Gus is here to take me to my big bird in the sky.”_

_“I will miss your nicknames least of all.”_

_“Aw, Lassie-frass, does that mean you’ll miss me?” Shawn dropped his bag by the door and sauntered into Carlton’s personal space. Carlton used a belt loop on Shawn’s jeans to pull him even closer._

_“Maybe those abs,” he slid his hand under Shawn’s t-shirt to trace them. “Or those talented lips.” He pulled the other man into a deep kiss before letting it slow down to a gentle slide of lips. When they separated, they both wore smiles._

_“Well, if you miss my lovable personality, the phone number for my apartment in Washington and my email are both in your pocket. Feel free to reach out, Carlton.” Shawn stepped back and opened the door, locking the apartment up after they both exited. They parted without another word._

_It took two weeks for Carlton to reach out._

* * *

”You might want to ask yourself who you’re trusting in this case that maybe you shouldn’t.” That was all Shawn got out of his dad at lunch and Henry wouldn’t give any more advice on the drive back to his bike. Now he sat outside the McCallum offices with his camera waiting for potentially the person he shouldn’t have trusted.

He watched Katarina exit the offices through his camera lens. He snapped a few shots, her kissing her boyfriend…That is not the way a grown man kisses a grown woman… Her looking around suspiciously, and…was that stacks of money in the bag. Ransom drop? Oh, Katarina. He had even considered flirting with her.

Shawn packed away his camera and hopped on his bike. He followed her efficiently and from a safe distance. When she pulled down an alley, he swiftly drove down an adjacent street and entered the alley a block away.

Katarina climbed out of her car and talked with a guy who exited the employee entrance from the left of the alley. Shawn watched through his camera as she handed the bag off. Huh. The bag didn’t look like money anymore, but it was definitely the same bag. Then he caught the mystery guy’s hat, Carol’s Thrift Store. He needed that bag.

* * *

Two hours later he walked into Gus’ office as his friend was packing up to go. “Hold up, check this out.” He handed his best friend the tablet with photos of the bag side by side. One showed ransom money indents, the other showed it was clothes.

“Why were you stalking Katarina?”

“I had to make sure she wasn’t guilty. She’s not, so it’s irreverent.”

“You mean irrelevant.”

“I’ve heard it both ways.”

Gus rolled his eyes. Shawn set the bag down and quickly searched it and the lining. He came up empty.

“What, they didn’t happen to leave a ransom note inside?”

Shawn pulled several twenty dollar bills from his pocket and laid them out in the bag. He ran through the math in his head. “So we’ve got five stacks going across. You figure four going long ways. Ten stacks in each pile based on the wear and the indentation, depending on the denomination, uh, this could easily be $5 million.”

“You’re kidding.”

Shawn ran through the math again. “Give or take.”

“You got that from a groove on the side and a photo?”

“Come on, Gus. Any small child could’ve figured that out.”

“So, somebody at that house paid a ransom?”

“Mhm. Or tried to.” If a ransom was paid and that was behind the murder-suicide, it would have been at the house. There were indents on the bag, so someone definitely filled the bag with the money. If it was back at the McCallum residence, then that left Katarina or Mr. McCallum. Katarina wouldn’t have been contacted for a ransom, Camden and Orso would have gone to the man with the money. Therefore, Mr. McCallum would have gathered the ransom. But what happened? He had no motive to kill his son and friend. Accident?

Shawn was thrown from his thoughts by his cell phone ringing. He answered with a smile. “Carly, I knew you’d call.”

* * *

Carlton sipped at his scotch while he waited for Sha-Spencer to show up. He couldn’t believe the idiot was able to convince him to bring these files home, to show Spencer no less. He could get in serious trouble. His doorbell rang and Carlton down the rest of the scotch. He set his glass down and went to answer the door.

“Spencer.”

Shawn rolled his eyes, still using last names. Fine. Two could play this game. “Lassiter. Did you bring the files?”

Lassiter lead the way into the living room where the files were on the coffee table. “Yes, but I don’t know why.”

“I know why.” Shawn walked over and started flipping through Malcolm Orso’s file. “Because we both know this case is nowhere near closed. I know you caught that it wasn’t possible to be a suicide.”

“That’s just a hunch. Hunches and gut feelings aren’t admissible in court, Shawn.”

Shawn smiled and glanced up at Carlton. “Ah, finally, back to Shawn.”

Carlton glowered at the shorter man. He watched as Shawn read through the file.

“Hold up. It says Orso was seen in the town near the cabin?”

Carlton nodded and took a seat on the sofa. Shawn followed suit. “Yeah, twice. Earlier in the week by a store owner.”

“What was he buying?”

“Nothing. The old man saw him on the street.” Carlton tried to figure out what was going on inside Shawn’s head.

“Same old man sees him two times?”

Carlton nodded. “Yeah. Orso had one of those modified mufflers on his Nova. You could hear him a block away.” He watched as things started to click in Shawn’s mind.

So Mr. McCallum made the ransom drop, he already knew that. The man who showed up today with a bandaged wrist, potential suicide? But why would he shoot and kill his son and best friend? The blood on the counter! What if Mr. McCallum recognized Orso’s known Nova, followed it on a hunch and found them at the cabin! He got into a fight with them, shoved them into the table. It was an accident! The other must have walked in at the wrong time, and had to have been taken care of! It all fits!

“So who did it?”

Shawn jolted from his thoughts. “What?”

“Who killed them?”

“It was Mr. McCallum.”

“Shawn that’s ridiculous.”

“Is it? Who would have paid the ransom, huh? It would have been Mr. McCallum, and if they picked up the ransom in the Nova, he would have recognized it and figured it all out. But it was all an accident. At least the first death, the guy just hit his head on the table. But the second death, that shot was intentional, to cover up the murder. Murder-Suicide would fit perfectly, it almost fooled you guys.”

“Shawn all of that is speculation. We don’t even think a ransom was paid.”

“I know a ransom was paid.”

“And how could you possibly know that?”

Shawn almost explained exactly how he knew, but Lassie would just accuse him of messing with the case by keeping information from them. So he tapped his fingers to his temple. “I just know.”

Carlton rolled his eyes. “You’re not a damn psychic, Spencer. None of this helps us solve the case. You don’t have any proof to back up any of these ridiculous accusations.”

“I just laid it all out for you, Lassiter. What more proof do you need?”

“Actual proof, you’ve given me nothing.”

Shawn stood up in frustration and tossed the file back onto the table. “Fine, I’ll get you more proof.” He walked out of the living room and towards the entry way.

“Don’t you bother that family, Spencer. The Chief told you to stay away.” Carlton followed Shawn.

“You can’t have it both ways, Carly. If you want proof, then I’ve got to go and find some. I’m right about this, you’ll see.” Shawn left Carlton’s house, slamming the door behind him. He knew Mr. McCallum did it, now he just needed to get the guy to admit to it.

* * *

Shawn and Gus enter the McCallum residence and wait in the entry.

“I don’t see what you need to talk to Katarina again.”

“Yeah, well, I sort of lied about that. We’re not here to see Katarina.”

Gus looked confused. “Who are we here to see?”

Mr. McCallum headed down the stairs towards them. “This is highly inappropriate, Mr. Spencer. The investigation is over.”

Gus looked at his friend in shock, the Chief has specifically told them to leave this man alone.

“What if they got the wrong man?” Shawn asked.

Mr. McCallum sighed. “And who would the right man be?”

“You.”

Gus stared at his friend in disbelief. There’s no way they came here to accuse this man in his own home, without any evidence. The look on Shawn’s face told him that’s exactly why they were there. Fuck.

Mr. McCallum glared at the two men in his entry and led them both back to his office.

“Mr. McCallum, I didn’t have anything to do with this.” Gus thought he’d at least cover his own ass for when this blew up in their faces.

Mr. McCallum paid Gus no mind, focus solely on Shawn. “I killed my own son?”

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t think you meant to.”

“You’re not a detective. You’re not even a cop.”

“You’re right. I’m a psychic.” And a damn Sergeant in the military. “And I saw the whole thing.” Shawn closed his eyes, put two fingers to his temple and replayed his memories in his mind. “I see a ransom drop. You’re doing everything they ask. You didn’t call the police. You’re thinking of nothing but the safety of your son. After all, what’s $5 million to you?”

Shawn opened his eyes and motions in front of him. “I can see it. You’re driving away. Something strange happens. You recognize the car. You pass it on the hill. It’s Malcom Orso’s. You’ve seen it hundreds of times at your house ever since high school. Maybe it confirms a suspicion that you already have. You know where they are. You know the cabin.”

A slight panic showed on Mr. McCallum’s face for just a second. Shawn knew he was right.

Shawn gets drawn back into his thoughts. “He’s making coffee.” He looked at McCallum’s face. “You didn’t mean to kill him, did you? No. Just knock him around a little bit. Teach him a lesson. But he falls to the floor. He slams his head on the oak table. He’s dead. You know he’s dead.”

A sadness took over Mr. McCallum’s features, before he got himself together and turned away.

“Orso walks in, finds you. He’s got a half-ass pistol, but he’s no criminal. You know there’s only one way to cover your tracks. You take care of him too. Make it look like a suicide. Then you come home, inform the police, and you wait. You wait for a ransom call that will never come.”

Mr. McCallum takes a seat, in shock that Shawn has somehow figured it all out.

“Police eat it up. It’s easy to look shaken after all you’ve done.” Shawn glanced at the man’s wrist. “You might even be willing to take your own life.”

“You have an overactive imagination.” Mr. McCallum was outraged. “Perhaps a side-effect of your gift.”

Gus walked over. “Shawn, we need to go.”

“Not yet.” Shawn just needed two more minutes to get this guy to confess.

“I’m about to throw up on a Turkish carpet.” The whole story had Gus beyond nauseous.

“No, you’re not.”

“It’s in my esophagus.”

Shawn rolled his eyes and remembered where they passed a bathroom. “Second door on the left. Turn on the fan and flush.” Gus bolted from the room.

“I will not have this incident rehashed over and over again.” How dare this man accuse him on murder.

“I know what your relationship was with your son.”

“Oh, really.”

“I have a father that I disappoint all the time.” Shawn sat down across from the older man.

“I’m sure you do.”

“I know how you feel. This was it. This was the straw that broke the camel’s back, wasn’t it? To think 18 months ago, he sat across from you, looked you right in the eye and said, “Dad, I’m going to clean up my act this time. This time, I am going to change. I swear.” To know that he duped you and you fell for it all over again must’ve sent you into a state that even you can’t believe.”

Mr. McCallum almost considered the man’s words before standing. Shawn jumped to his feet as well. “Mr. Spencer, I’ve been assured by the Lieutenant Governor that this case will not cast a pall over my family. But I can assure you, it’s gonna cast one over yours.”

“My very first case, I’m already being threatened.” It doesn’t phase Shawn at all, he’s seen way worse that Mr. McCallum. “Wow.”

Gus busted into the room. “Shawn, let’s go.”

“Not quite finished.”

“We’re going, now.” Gus walked over and dragged Shawn with him.

Mr. McCallum nodded. “Listen to your friend.”

Shawn stopped Gus before they could leave the room. He pointed at Mr. McCallum. “I’ll be back.”

“No, you won’t.”

Shawn smirked and left the room with Gus. They were quickly escorted out of the residence by the staff. “Okay, we’re going. We’re clearly going. Alright!” They walked back to the Blueberry.

Shawn couldn’t believe his friend dragged him out of there, he was so close! “Dude, what are you doing? We had him on the ropes.”

“It wasn’t the right tack.”

“Oh, you’re the expert now?”

“Consumine.”

Shawn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “What?”

“Consumine. It’s for dog bites. I have some samples.”

“Gus, what are you saying to me?”

“I’m saying there was a bottle of it in the medicine cabinet, prescribed Wednesday. You wonder why he had on that long-sleeved shirt in the heat that first day?”

It all clicked in Shawn’s mind. “Oh, my gosh. The blood on the dog’s teeth!” They climbed into the Blueberry.

“We’re never getting back in there.”

“I know. Just give me a second.” He rubbed his temples with his fingers.

“What are you doing?”

“I’m thinking.”

Gus shook his head. “You look ridiculous.”

Shawn had an idea. He pulled out his phone.

“Now what are you doing?”

“I’m calling the cops.”

“For what? You hear the guy in there. They’re never going to come.”

It was obvious, Gus. “I’m not calling the cops on him. I’m calling the cops on us. Gus, we need this to play out in front of an audience with all the major players in place.” The call connected and Shawn dropped his voice a level. “Yes, hello. I’m calling from the McCallum residence. There’s an intruder here who simply won’t leave. He’s claiming to be a psychic that works for your department. Mr. McCallum is enraged, and he wants this handled by the highest authority possible. Please send the Chief immediately.” Shawn hung up and turned to his best friend. “Did you really vomit?”

* * *

The cops showed up not even 10 minutes later. Mr. McCallum met the Chief out front and explained that her employees were harassing him and his staff. Lucinda and Carlton promptly handcuffed Shawn and Gus. “As you can see, Karen, this simply cannot happen.”

Karen couldn’t believe her ears. “It’ll be taken care of. Believe me. He was given clear instructions to stay away."

Carlton was shocked that Spencer had gone out of his way to ignore both his own and the Chief’s warnings. He was thrilled to see Shawn finally get what was coming to him. “It’s times like this I remember why I love my job so much.”

“Anytime, Shawn.” Gus was already sick of being in handcuffs.

Shawn smirked, he was about to make a fool out of Carlton and he was going to enjoy it. “He’s getting cocky. Give it a sec.”

“We’re gonna be in a city jail in a sec.”

“Here we are.” Carlton opened the car door and helped Shawn hit his head against the car. “Oh, I’m sorry. Did that hurt?”

Gus shot Shawn a look, who nodded.

“Ah, something’s happened!” Shawn started to shake and squirm.

Carlton was not amused. “Oh, stop it.”

“Gus! Something’s happening!”

“Stop it!” Lassiter pushed the man away and Shawn flopped down onto the ground. Lassiter stopped any officers from approaching. “Wait.” Everyone turned to watch the show.

“Ah! Ah. The dog!”

“Shut up.”

Shawn closed his eyes to seem lost in a vision. “He’s biting the intruder! He knows him! It’s someone he knows! The dog knows him!”

Carlton had had enough. “Stop. Talking.”

“Ouch! Ow! The teeth are digging in.”

“Shut up!” Carlton reached down and dragged Shawn to his feet. He grabbed him around the middle and hoisted him off the ground. He carried Shawn to the car.

“Oh, there’s blood! Ah! It’s him! It’s McCallum! I can see his face! The killer is McCallum! Check his wrist! Check his right wrist! The teeth marks will match up!”

Carlton put Shawn down and shoved him partially into the car.

McCallum was enraged and embarrassed by the whole spectacle. “Get him out of here!”

“Check the wrist!”

“No one is checking any part of me!”

The Chief watched the whole thing in silence. She didn’t see how checking could hurt. “Why not?”

“Huh?”

Carlton stopped struggling to get Shawn into the car.

The Chief shrugged. “We can close this out immediately. Discredit him right here. That’s an awful wound you have bandaged there.”

“This is outrageous!” Mr. McCallum approached the Chief. “Do you really want to do this?”

“We could do this now or I could call in a warrant.”

“I’ll call my lawyer.”

The Chief nodded. “I’ll be right here.”

“I see a doctor! I’m seeing a doctor.” Carlton went back to getting Shawn into the car, though Shawn was fighting him on it. “Dr. Bendali. And a word. Consumine. Yeah, it’s for dog bites. The wound is fresh. Check the wound! It’s a fresh wound. It’s still a fresh wound.”

McCallum knew he’d been caught. He turned to the Chief. “It was an accident. I-I didn’t-.”

Carlton couldn’t believe it. How were all of Shawn’s hunches completely correct. “What?”

The Chief motioned for officers to come arrest Mr. McCallum.

Carlton was pissed. Shawn had been 100% right last night, and he had no idea how he did it.

Gus looked pleased and turned to Lucinda. “You want to take these cuffs off of me, please?” Lucinda nodded and proceded to remove the cuffs. “Thank you.”

Carlton leaned against the car next to Shawn. “How did you do that?”

Shawn almost wished he could tell Carlton how he did it, but he had to keep the story in place. Besides, Carlton had been an ass to him since the moment they reentered each other’s lives. He could suck it, for awhile. “I wish I knew.”

Carlton rolled his eyes and walked away without removing Shawn’s cuffs. He could wait a bit. It had nothing to do with the racing heart Carlton had from briefly manhandling his ex.

Gus walked over and stood next to his best friend.

“Do you think this psychic stuff pretty much ruins my chances with Lassie?”

Gus rolled his eyes, how could that be what his friend was thinking about.

All Shawn could think about now was having been in Carlton’s arms, no matter how brief it was.

* * *

Shawn returned to the precinct the next day and walked into the Chief’s office. “There she is.”

The Chief was shocked. “Don’t ever walk into my office without knocking.

“I’m sorry. I got excited.”

“You know what I’ll do to you?” The Chief stood up and walked around her desk.

“Yes.” Shawn could think of a few things.

“Oh, you do?”

“I’m a psychic.”

The Chief briefly smiled. “I’m just finishing up in here. I’ll be with you in a moment.” She motioned for Shawn to step out of her office.

“That’s all right, Karen. I gotta get going anyway.” Shawn was shocked to see his dad in the Chief’s office.

“Thank you very much for coming down.” She shook Henry Spencer’s hand. “You’ve been a big help.”

Henry left the office. “Son.”

“Dad.” Shawn just hoped his dad hadn’t just ratted him out. He could go to jail.

“Have a seat.” The Chief motioned for Shawn to sit and he did. She took a seat as well. “I was considering adding you to my speed dial, Mr. Spencer. But I would be remiss if I didn’t do a little background check, don’t you think?

“Uh, yes?”

“I asked your dad how long you’ve had the gift.”

Well, fuck. “Look, my father’s memory is pretty cloudy.”

“Oh, it certainly is. His recollection doesn’t match up with your assertion at all.”

“I can explain that.”

“You said you’ve had this ability your whole life.”

“Well…whole life. I mean, it’s a bit of a gray area.”

“He said you didn’t get it until you were 18.”

Oh, so Henry didn’t rat him out. Shocking. “He said that?” The Chief nodded. “Wow. That is just like him. The man simply refuses to acknowledge my abilities, my gifts. Can we discuss my fee?”

“There’s a check in the cage.” Shawn got to his feet. “Sign for it and then come back in.”

“Come-come back in here? Why?”

“You familiar with a chop shop in Summerland?” The Chief handed him a file.

* * *

Shawn ran out of the station and spotted his dad. “Dad!”

Henry stopped climbing into his truck. “So are you gonna continue with this little charade?”

“Well, it sort of gives me carte blanche, you know. I mean, I can work cases for the department. I can do private jobs. In fact, I've already got another case.”

Henry nodded. “Be aware. This is the last time I cover for you, pal.” He climbed into his truck. “I'm not okay with this, Shawn. Any of it.”

Shawn noticed his dad had a copy of the news report ran this morning about Shawn solving the case. Shawn smiled, maybe his dad was proud of him after all. “I don't expect you to be, dad.” Henry started his truck and drove off.

* * *

Shawn drove Gus in the Blueberry to a beachfront office. Their office. He parked out front and pointed to the sign on the window. “Awesome!” They climb out of the car and Shawn waved his hands at their new property.

“Psych? As in, ‘got you.’”

“Or as in ‘psychic.’” Shawn led the way inside.

"You named your fake detective agency Psych? Why don't you just call it, "hey, we're fooling you and the police department. Hope we don't make a mistake and someone dies because of it.””

"First of all, Gus, that name is entirely too long. It would never fit on the window. And secondly, the best way to convince people you're not lying to them is to tell them you are.” It made perfect sense.

“Whatever, Shawn. It's your agency. Go for it.”

“Actually, it's our agency.” He pulled out the lease and showed it to Gus. “I put your name on the lease as well. Tell me. Does that look anything like your signature? I gave it a shot.” Who was he kidding, Shawn knew that was a perfect signature match.

Gus didn’t believe what he was hearing. “This better be a joke.”

“Don't worry. You won't have to do a thing. I have worked out every last detail.”

“What's your dental plan?”

“Don't get cavities.”

“Health plan?”

“Same, but with hepatitis and shingles.”

“So I'm supposed to quit my job, skip over, and do this for no guaranteed money.”

“No guaranteed money, but all guaranteed fun!”

“No! No more cases, Shawn. It was fun for a few days. But you’re supposed to be laying low and I have a real job.”

“Well, it's gonna have to be fun for a minimum of six months, or we'll have to pay a lease penalty. Which would be a blemish on your otherwise very impressive credit report. Besides, I’m tired of laying low, I want to do something fun.”

Gus rolled his eyes. “You solved one mystery and now you’re renting office space?”

“Gus, I've solved a bunch of mysteries. For instance, the mystery of who kept stealing your newspaper. Answer: me! The mystery of what we're doing this weekend. Hint. It involves dragsters. And finally, the mystery that is the case the chief just brought me in on.”

That got Gus’ attention. “You got another case already?”

“A car thief got poisoned by his boss. He used something over the counter.” Now to real Gus in. “Phisdine. No. Phisadirble. No.”

“Phisadrine?”

“That's it!”

“Wow. How'd he do that?”

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

“Just for today, right?”

“Absolutely.” They head out of the office and back to the Blueberry.

* * *

Carlton was furious. First he had to now put up with Spencer on cases, then he realized his feelings for this man were not going away anytime soon. Now he just lost one of the best partners he ever had and was going to have to deal with a newbie! Shawn reentered his life and had thrown a wrench at him at every turn. Carlton was sick of it.

He parked his car and stormed up to the apartment he knew belonged to the idiot. He repeatedly slammed his fist against the door until said idiot opened the door.

“Dude, chill!” Shawn looked up and noticed it was Carlton at the door. “Carly, it’s like midnight, what do you want?”

“I want you to leave like you always do. I’m sick of you interfering on my cases and I’m sick of you spewing information that’s not yours to share.”

“Is this about Lucinda getting transferred? It was bound to happen eventually, you weren’t happy with that relationship anyway. Besides, your next partner will be great.” He brought a hand to his temple. "I just know it."

“You’re not psychic, Spencer!”

“You have no proof that I’m not, Carlton.” Shawn stepped into Carlton’s personal space. “Now why don’t you tell me the real reason you’re here, because I don’t think it’s to yell at me for things I can’t change. I’m here for the foreseeable future, Lassie-frass, and you’re going to have to deal with that.”

Carlton was called out. He thought he had come to yell, but he knew the real reason he had showed up at Shawn’s door this late. So he did what he came to do. He pulled Shawn into a heated kiss. Shawn immediately kissed him back and the two of them stepped into the apartment and closed the door behind them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the end of the pilot episode. I may do more episodes, not sure yet. Let me know in the comments or on twitter!  
> Follow and chat with me on twitter @anonymousseal2


	3. Spellingg Bee Part One

Shawn was beyond frustrated. Last night was the third time Lassie had come over for sex and left before Shawn could get a word in. It wasn’t that Shawn didn’t enjoy the sex, he definitely did; it’s just that they needed to talk, about their past and their future. He enjoyed pissing Lassie off on cases, it was a blast, but he missed having Lassie in his life as more than just a coworker. All his old feelings for Lassie were coming back and irritating him was only doing so much to subdue the feelings. For once, Shawn wanted to be the responsible one and talk it out. That freaked him out as much as anything.

He grabbed a copy of the newspaper and headed inside the diner. He was hoping a delicious breakfast would improve his mood. He paused mid-step when he noticed an adorable blonde sitting in his seat. It had a perfect vantage point of the door, the exact reason he had chosen it. It was strange that she had to pick that exact spot, and she sat tense as if she was waiting for something, or someone. Now he was intrigued. He walked over and set his paper down in the spot next to her.

“Excuse me, you're in my seat.”

She looked up, shocked. “Am I?”

“Actually, yes, you are.”

“You one of those weirdo compulsives who come to the same restaurant, sit in the same chair, and eat the same food every day?”

She really hadn’t noticed his orange juice. She was distracted by something. At least she was funny. “No, no, no, I was sitting right there three minutes ago, and then I went outside to get myself a paper.” He motioned to his paper. “I ordered a juice, and look, I made a crawling snake with the straw wrapper. You can finish it if you think you're up to the job.” Shawn resorted to his childish behavior, getting the blonde to relax a little. Perfect. People revealed a lot when they’re comfortable.

“I'm sorry. You want me to move?”

“Not anymore.” Shawn took the seat next to her. “So, what’s up?”

“I don’t have time to talk.”

Definitely waiting for something, she wasn’t even properly reading the newspaper. “But you haven’t heard what I’m going to say.”

“See, now we've already talked more than I wanted to.” She leaned down to grab her purse, and Shawn glanced her over. Cat hair on both her shoes and shirt sleeves. Gray and white. Photo of her parents in her purse. She pulled her purse in her lap and kept one hand on it at all times. Odd.

“Well, I did give you my seat, you know. I think that gets me one question.”

“Listen, diner guy.”

“Shawn.”

“Shawn. Flattered, really. Very often, I am happy to meet new people. But today, right here, right now, I can't talk.” She kept glancing at the door. She wasn’t actually reading and she was keeping something close in her purse. He glanced something black in her purse. Undercover cop. Interesting.

“I understand. I do. What if I do the talking for both of us?” Maybe she was the replacement for Lucinda. Lassie had been worried about getting a newbie, looks like he was disappointed. 

“Have at it! Do you mind if I read the paper and stare aimlessly out the window while you two talk?”

Of course not, he was going to wow her. Might as well prove he was a psychic early; he didn’t need two skeptic detectives. “No. Can I get a name to work with?”

She was amused, good. “Juliet.”

“Well, it's very nice to meet you, Juliet.” He changed his voice to a high pitch female voice. “It's nice to meet you, too, Shawn. And I am sorry about your seat. So, lunch is on me. So, what do you do for a living?” He switched his voice back. “I do a little bit of everything.”

She stopped pretending to read the paper and listened to Shawn.

His voice raises a few octaves again. “Oh, that sounds interesting. And maybe a little bit dangerous. Oh, I like your jacket. I like it-.”

“Okay, can I stop you here? First off, in your portrayal of me, I sound like I'm in the eighth grade.”

“Well, in my portrayal of you, you only have an eighth grade education.”

She chuckled.

“All right, smarten you up. College, yeah? Top your class, graduate early. Got it.” He raises his voice again, but smoothed it out to a more mature voice. “I'm new to town, and I don't know many people. But I do know my cats. Two of them. The gray one is very affectionate, the white one makes me work much, much harder for the attention.”

Juliet started to get confused. How did he know all of this?

He returned to his normal voice. “And what about your family?” He raised it again. “My family is amazing! My parents have been together for, what is it, 30 years now?”

“Okay, do we know each other?”

“Yes, you were the girl who stole my seat!” A sketchy looking guy walked into the diner and Juliet tensed. She reached into her purse. Definitely a cop. “You're a cop!”

She tried to hide it. “I'm not a cop!”

He internally rolled his eyes. “The paper, the vantage point, the layout. You got defensive when Scary Guy walked in, you're totally a cop!”

“Okay, Shawn, I may need you to do me a favor.”

“Name it.”

“Duck!” 

Shawn dropped his head to the table when two undercover cops, how did he miss them, emerged from the booths and Carlton burst into the diner. “Police!”

Juliet stepped around Shawn and pulled her gun. Her hands shook while she held it.

They got the guy handcuffed and out of the diner in under a minute. Carlton glanced over to check on his new partner, and was pissed to find Shawn there, waving at him. Could he not get one day without Shawn showing up? He promptly left the diner.

Shawn turned at watched Juliet put her gun back in her purse, still a little shaky.

“First time pulling your gun?”

“Maybe.” She left the diner. Yup, Lassie was likely pissed he had to train a newbie detective. She seemed pretty easy going, maybe she’d help loosen Lassie up a bit.

* * *

**_1989_ **

_“Thirty seconds, Mr. Guster.”_

_Shawn sat with the rest of the school as Gus competed in the school’s spelling bee. His word was aggiornamento. Shawn knew Gus knew the word, he had gone over it just two days ago while Shawn had been waiting to go home. Shawn had learned a lot of words he wished he’d never heard of over the past two weeks while his best friend crammed for this competition._

_“A-G-G.” Gus paused, unsure of the next letter. “Let me start over. A-G-G-.”_

_Gus’ parents had been discussing sending him on to bigger spelling bee competitions if he passed. It sounded like a lot of work to Shawn, and he knew his best friend wouldn’t enjoy the constant studying, so he mouthed the letter “O” to Gus up on stage. He knew the next letter was “I” but this was for the best._

_“O?” The judge buzzed the buzzer and Gus’ shoulders dropped in disappointment as he shuffled off stage. It was for the best, right?_

* * *

“Beautiful Santa Barbara, California, is the backdrop for this afternoon's coverage of the American Spelling Bee, being held at the downtown Cabrillo Theater.” Gus sat in the Psych office, watching the spelling bee. “Champions from all over these western United States have made the trek to test-.” He heard the office door open and reached for the remote, quickly turning it off. Shawn saw a glimpse of the screen from the other room, easily figuring out what it was.

“The Spelling Bee Regionals? Come on, man, you couldn’t be watching Korean porn or something?"

Gus sat at his desk. “Don’t mock me, Shawn. It’s a huge event.”

“No, I'm just, I'm shocked that you didn't take the whole day off.” Shawn smirked.

“It's on Sports Cal Two, for your information. And it's hosted by Bud Collins.”

“Really? Did they bump the car washing championships for this? And is it over soon? 'Cause I'd like to get back to the woodcarving finals.”

Gus stood up and walked back over to the chair, turning the Spelling Bee back on.

“Let's recap this morning's unexpected high drama.” Bud Collins said from the TV.

“It's being held in Santa Barbara this year. Down at the Cabrillo. It's huge. Sold out.”

“All the experts are shaking their heads.” On the TV, a competitor is trying and failing to get medicine from his inhaler.

“I tried to get tickets, but you gotta know somebody.”

Shawn shook his head and headed to his desk. “Somebody lame. Dude, I can't believe you're watching that!” Spelling became his least favorite subject after Gus competed back in middle school. He knew how to spell way more words than he had ever wanted to, it was useless information he hadn’t needed to know.

“I'm taping it! And I don't care what you think, Shawn, I watch the bee semis every year.”

“Okay, for your sake and mine, stop giving the spelling bee hip little nicknames.”

Bud Collins came back on screen. “For those of you who have just joined us, well, a bit of a shock. And a little sad, too. The heavy favorite has had a bad spell, and Brendan Vu is out!"

“What?” Gus was shocked.

“Boo-hoo for Vu, Bud.”

“No way. Brendan Vu is out? Already?”

The name rang a bell in Shawn’s memory. “The runner up last year?”

Gus looked at Shawn in shock.

Shawn shrugged. “I glanced a headline last year, trust me it’s not a fact I’m happy to know.” He turned to watch the TV too.

“Okay. We're gonna show this again. It looks like young Mr. Vu may be having trouble breathing.” Bud said on TV.

“He does look to be under some sort of duress, Bud.” On the screen Brendan Vu struggles to breathe and takes puffs of his inhaler.

“His inhaler did not appear to help, and Vu tumbled.”

“Dang!” Gus and Shawn watched closely as Brendan fell to the ground. Shawn noticed something.

“Paramedics rushed to the scene, and within moments, the competition had taken an unexpected turn.” Bud continued to narrate.

“Wait a second. Did you see that?” Shawn grabbed the remote and rewound the video. The kid’s hand shook around the inhaler. It wasn’t working, which doesn’t make sense, and what else could it be in a competition besides sabotage. “This is no accident. There's something wrong with that inhaler.”

Gus took back the remote. “Shawn, get out of here.”

The phone rang and Shawn answered it. “Psych.” He covered the speaker and spoke to Gus. “It’s the Chief.” He listened and Gus walked over. “I’ll have to check with Gus.” He turned to his best friend. “Are we available?” He took the look he got as a yes. “Appears we are…We’ll be right there.” He hung up the phone.

“What?”

“I can get us into the Spelling Bee.”

“Really?”

“Guess I was right about the whole Bandon Dunes thing.”

“Brendan Vu.”

Shawn shrugged. “Sure.”

“They need a psychic detective for that?”

“They don’t, unless he was sabotaged.” He sat down in his chair. “The kid said his inhaler felt funny. When he used it, his hand stung. Paramedics get there, there’s no inhaler.”

Gus quickly went to grab his coat.

“Apparently, the thing just vanished into thin air.”

Gus headed out of the room. “Shawn, we are so taking this! Let's go!” He rushed out of the office.

“How come I can't get you this excited about girls?”

“Let's go, Shawn!”

“Or Mexico?”

* * *

Shawn and Gus got to the convention center as the Chief was leaving. They walk over to her.

Shawn gestured to himself and Gus. “We’re here.”

“Go on in, Mr. Spencer. I've arranged everything you need inside.”

“You're leaving?”

“Oh, I was only here for the mayor's presentation, and we have a robbery standoff across town.”

“Whoa, shouldn't I go to the hospital, meet the victim, get his statement?” Talking to the victim would let him know for sure it was sabotage, while also giving him a potential list of suspects.

“Mr. Spencer, the case is sabotage. There are 43 remaining contestants, all presumably with a motive. Now, you can read guilt just by talking with someone, right?”

Shawn nodded.

“Do it.”

That seemed like a waste of time to Shawn. “You want us to talk to all of them?”

“And their parents.”

“Today?”

“Mhm. By 5:00. In two days, this whole thing is over. At that time, all the witnesses will be in 100 different cities all over the western United States. So, it's now or never. Good luck.” The Chief turned and headed to her car.

Gus immediately headed inside the convention center with Shawn trailing behind.

* * *

“Spell Master Elvin Cavanaugh is a secretive guy, and yet, he has called for a press conference after this round!” Bud Collins announced to the audience before the competition continued. 

“Can you repeat that, please?” The contestant asked.

Shawn and Gus headed down the steps of the auditorium, headed towards the front row.

"Butyraceous,” the Spell Master read.

"Definition, please?”

“Adjective. "Having the characteristics of butter.””

Gus spoke to Shawn in a low tone. “This thing's been sold out for weeks.”

Shawn glanced around, already bored. “I can see why. It moves so fast, it's like hockey with words.”

They stop by their seats and Gus points up to the Spell Master’s box above the audience. “There's Elvin Cavanaugh, the greatest spell champion ever. He's been the Spell Master for 14 years. He's a legend."

“Wow. He sits up there all by himself in that fancy box? What is he, the Phantom of the Opera?”

Gus rolled his eyes. “He's a huge celebrity! He can't just sit in the crowd!” They sit down.

“Can you repeat the word?”

“Butyraceous.”

“Butyraceous?” The contestant repeated what the Spell Master said, buying time to spell the word.

Shawn leaned his head back in exasperation. “Oh, come on, dude, you're not bored at all?”

“Do you know how to spell any of these words?”

“Proudly, I have never heard of any of these words. I file these words under “Things to say when I want to be ridiculed or kicked out of bed.”” Actually, Shawn did know this word, Gus had studied it for their sixth grade spelling bee, but he wasn’t about to admit it.

“See, the problem is that butyraceous is clearly a Round One word.”

“Oh, God, stop talking. I'd like to pretend we still have things in common, Gus!”

“Well, instead of sitting here, maybe we should get to work!” Gus hopped out of his chair and headed through the doors to the back area, followed by Shawn.

* * *

“Try not to break anything.” Ms. Foote, one of the coordinators led them back into the junk filled room. Random stuff like costumes, clowns and props filled the room. Gus and Shawn looked around.

“Wow! So this is what it looks like.”

“What?” Shawn poked a nearby, giant, clown.

The comfort room. This is where you go to deal with missing a word.”

“Oh, yeah? Where do they take you to deal with missing your entire childhood?” Ms. Foote was not amused.

“Shawn, this misplaced malevolence you have with the spelling bee is getting monotonous. Stop hating on the bee! I'm sorry, ma'am, I do apologize for his inappropriate virulence.”

Seriously? Was Gus really trying to impress this lady? “Why are you using all these big-ass words all of a sudden?”

“I'm not doing that.” Gus turned to Ms. Foote. “That's preposterous! I was in the spelling bee myself. I almost won.”

Shawn rolled his eyes with an amused grin. “Dude, are you still on that?”

“Of course I'm still on it! I knew it wasn't "O"!”

Ms. Foote interjected. “You may have five minutes with each contestant, no more. If the room is needed, you'll be asked to vacate. I'll begin with the eliminated contestants.”

“Actually, we'd only like to speak with the ones that were still in the competition when the accident occurred. Ms...Foote. And let's start with the shifty-eyed ones, shall we?”

Gus nodded in agreement. Ms. Foote left to get the contestants, exasperated.

* * *

Shawn and Gus sat across a mother and son, the son was soft-spoken and had excellent posture. 

“And you were there the whole time?”

“I was,” the child confirmed.

“Assimilation,” the mother interjected.

Shawn looked at Gus in disbelief. This was seriously not the time to be practicing.

“A-S-S-I-M-I-L-A-T-I-O-N. Assimilation.”

Gus merely nodded his approval of the spelling.

* * *

They now sat across from a father and son. The father did most of the talking and had a Czech accent, while the teen, Jiri, stared at the inhaler in his hands. Shawn watched the kid more than the father, trying to determine if he was just shy or if he was hiding something.

“My son, no one expect him to come this far. But he surprise everyone. You watch him win.”

Shawn finally glanced at the father. “Oh, I don't know. Are they running odds on this thing now? 'Cause I've got some cash I'd like to lay down on the really, really tall girl with the bulldog underbite. What, is she on stilts?” He was not met with amusement.

“You do not understand. This contest, it is money for scholarship. It is entry into any school in the future.”

“Yeah, Shawn. The winner of this competition can just about choose his university,” Gus pointed out.

“Your friend is right.”

“And it teaches grace under pressure. Poise. Dignity.”

“All things you can get at a hot-dog eating competition. Plus Hot dogs.” Shawn got a chuckle out of the teen and counted it as a win.

* * *

“Still studying, huh?” They sat across from a mother and daughter. The daughter silently read the dictionary. Shawn didn’t think it’d be a very interesting read.

The mother smiled. “Oh, she loves it. Won't put that thing down.”

“Well, kudos on the childrearing. Let me know how the therapy goes.”

The mother looked at Shawn in confusion. “Huh?”

* * *

The round of the spelling bee ends, but the cameras keep rolling on the hosts. “We're gonna keep rolling because of the exceptional request by Elvin Cavanaugh, a behind-the-scenes guy, to give a press conference right here at this stage of the competition! What's that all about?”

“Well, I mean, this could be something big, Bud.”

Shawn and Gus reenter the auditorium and turn to watch the TV’s with the footage of the hosts.

“I mean, this year's competition has just been peppered with controversy,” The co-host continued.

“It certainly has. Well, he's been watching from a private box on the balcony, but now, he's going to come out so that we can see him.” The hosts and cameras turn to the balcony. Shawn and Gus turn around.

“This could be something big, Bud.”

They all watched as Cavanaugh stumbled to the railing of the balcony and clutched his chest. He didn’t appear to be breathing.

“I think he's having difficulty breathing!” Bud exclaimed.

“He does look under duress, Bud,” the co-host agreed.

Shawn quickly examined the guy from a distance. He appeared to have stopped breathing, potential heart attack? Maybe poison causing heart attack like symptoms. They all watched as the Spell Master tumbled over the railing. Shawn knew the man was dead before he hit the seats.

People called out of help and to call 9-1-1.

“Not to belittle this guy's life, but this just got more interesting than the woodcarving finals.” Shawn glanced at Gus who was not amused.

* * *

_1998_

_Carlton emailed Shawn two weeks after they parted ways. He sent the basic niceties and waited for a response. He got one within the day._

_Shawn was happy to hear from Carly, and they quickly fell into easy conversation in their emails. Since they couldn’t discuss much of what Shawn did, they often talked about Carlton’s cases and his life._

_Carlton never knew if he’d see Shawn again, but he was thrilled to have someone to talk to that could keep up with his cases, outside of the station. Shawn always gave a new perspective and would slip in ideas without blatantly telling Carlton where to look, giving him a chance to figure it all out himself._

_They also occasionally discussed their pasts, though this happened mostly by phone. They called at least every other week when Shawn was available, and that was when the real talks happened. Shawn talked about his rocky relationship with his dad, his childhood shenanigans with his best friend, and the decisions that led to him joining the army. Carlton talked about his less than stellar childhood, his time at Old Sonora, and his choice to join the police academy._

_They got to know each other well in those 2 months before Shawn had to leave on mission, where he wouldn’t have communications for awhile._

* * *

The coroner zipped up the body bag around Cavanaugh. Juliet watched with unease and walked away as they rolled the body from the building. She walked over to where Carlton was snacking on popcorn. “When do we decide if we should cancel this event?”

Carlton glanced at his new partner. “Why would we cancel?”

“Well, a body did just tumble into the crowd.”

He shrugged. “Didn't land on anybody.” This is one of the reasons he hated newbies, they thought every scene was a big deal.

“It might be traumatic.”

“For who? The mayor, when he realizes all the hotel rooms are now empty?”

“We could postpone at least a day, I'm sure that's allowed.”

“Do you have any idea how important this event is to the city? Now, unhealthy guy has heart attack, falls over railing. Case closed. Certainly not declaring it a crime scene. Come on, you can introduce me to the press.”

“Okay, just be sensitive.”

“How about if we don't sell the seat the guy landed on?”

* * *

Shawn and Gus listened to the detectives from the hallway. A heart attack was a good theory, but Shawn wasn’t sure. There was already an act of sabotage, now a death? It was more likely that they were connected.

They headed upstairs to the balcony so they could get into the room where Cavanaugh spent the competition. They run into a cop, and after freaking him out with some psychic mumbo jumbo, they get inside the room. The room is a mess and there’s half eaten food scattered around. Shawn picks up a half-eaten donut.

“Well, we certainly know what his vice was.”

“He was a heavy eater, so what?”

“Nothing. I'm just thinking Lassiter's heart attack theory might not be so far off.” He looked at the booklet on the desk and saw the number 1953. “Who's contestant 1953?”

“It only goes up to 200-something.”

Shawn flipped the page with a pencil and saw the number 1953 again. “What's 1953 mean?”

“Nothing. Is it a rule?”

“No, they don't really number the rules like that.”

Shawn glanced around the room again and noticed the chair was knocked over, as well as the plant and the pencil holder. Maybe he stumbled around while he had his heart attack, or whatever killed him.

“Think there was an altercation?”

“No, something else. He was all by himself up here.”

“You smell that?” Gus sniffed around.

“Dude, don't look at me.”

“It's sulfuric.” He tried to find the source.

“Gus, I am not the one who had the egg salad.”

“No, no, no. We manufactured something last year, heavy stuff. When it starts to go bad, smelled the same. You could pick out a bottle across the warehouse.”

“I can't smell anything!”

“Well, you don't have the Supersmeller.”

“Gus! You have got to stop calling your nose the Supersmeller. You wanna nickname a body part? Nickname your butt, man! Call it the "tight bouncer," or the "hexagon.” Ladies are gonna dig that, I'm telling you.”

Gus sniffed around the room and under the desk. He spotted a container of Chinese takeout. He stood up and pointed under the desk. “It's there. It's right there. It's subtle, but it's right there.”

“Well, what is it?”

“I don't know. It's nothing we manufacture."

“Aren't you supposed to know this kind of stuff?”

“Shawn, I sell pharmaceutical supplies, I'm not a scientist!”

“But you're saying it is something?”

“Yes, I'm pretty sure.”

Shawn picked up the container and looked inside.

“Don't eat it!”

“What, do I look like an idiot?” Shawn set it down and took an evidence bag out from his back pocket. He put some of the noodles in the bag.

“What- What are you taking some to go?”

“Yes! For the road! In case later on I get hungry enough to eat something that might be poisoned!”

Gus noticed Carlton enter the auditorium below and hit Shawn in the shoulder. The two of them ducked under the table.

“Man, we gotta go!” The two of them snuck back out of the room and out of the balcony.

* * *

Carlton stood in front of the press and cameras, Juliet by his side. “Sorry, could I try that again. I kind of fumbled the “safe and secure” part.”

The main reporter nodded. “Sure.”

Jules turned to Lassiter. “Be sensitive.”

Carlton held back rolling his eyes. He knew how to speak to the press. “Of course.” He turned back to the press. “The finals will continue tomorrow as scheduled."

Shawn and Gus headed down the steps of the auditorium and watched Carlton talk to the press.

“At this point, all indications are Mr. Cavanaugh was having a heart attack, stumbled forward, falling over the railing to his death.” Juliet shot him a glare. “But we want to assure everyone that this building is both safe and-.”

Juliet stepped slightly in front of Carlton. “Our sympathies go out to Mr. Cavanaugh’s family, and we would like to offer counseling to anyone who feels that they might need it.”

“Who’s the blonde?” Gus didn’t recognize the female detective standing with Carlton.

“Lassie’s new partner. They transferred his girlfriend.”

“I bet you’re thrilled about that.”

Shawn rolled his eyes and elbowed his best friend in the side. Gus glared at him.

Carlton interrupted Juliet. “And again, we want to ensure everyone coming out for this fantastic event that it is entirely safe.”

“Shawn! They’re going to stop investigating!”

“One last question, and then I really have to go wrap up this thing,” Carlton addressed the press.

Gus nudged Shawn. “Do something.”

The main reporter spoke up. “Is there any word as to what Cavanaugh’s big announcement was?”

Shawn raised a hand to his temple and closed his eyes. “Moo goo gai pan!” The cameras turned to face him. “Beef lo mein, kung pao! Uh…Check the food! It was murder!”

Carlton’s decent mood disappeared. He couldn’t get a single day without Shawn’s nonsense interfering with his cases.

“Oh, did I just say all of that out loud?” Shawn acted like it was all an accident. He fended off any questions from the press and Gus and he snuck out of the auditorium before an angry Carlton could catch up with them. Once outside, Shawn pulled out the evidence bag of pasta.

“Shawn, you’ll never find out what that is without a lab.”

“I’ll get a lab.”

“A high-tech lab? Right now? You going to use your military connections?”

“No, I can’t use those right now. But I might still have a connection.”

* * *

Shawn parked his bike outside his dad’s house. He walked up as his dad grabbed his fishing gear.

“Yo!”

“Shawn.”

“Hey, Dad, great shirt!”

He stopped just inside the door. “You want something.”

“Why do you always think I want something?”

“Oh, you don’t want anything. What a pleasant surprise.” Henry headed inside the house.

“Okay, you got me! I want something.”

Henry walked back to the door. “I got a poker game in 45 minutes.”

“You still talk to Jim Syklan?”

“Syklan? Sometimes. Why, what’s he to you?”

“Is he still working at the regional crime lab out here?”

“Last I checked. Why?”

Shawn pulled out the evidence bag of food. “I need to know what this is.”

Henry glanced at the bag. “It looks like a Number 15 with chicken.”

“Dad, you made a joke! I think there’s poison in it.”

“Goodbye, Shawn.” Henry closed the door on his son. Shawn groaned before heading to the window. “It’s just one time! Once.”

“No cases, Shawn! I was painfully clear about that.”

“Oh, no, no, this isn’t for a case. This is…for a friend.”

“Oh, friend, different. No!” Henry closed the curtains. A few moments later, he stepped out of the house to head to his truck.

“Look, I’ll do anything whatever you want, it’s one favor.” Henry stopped walking and listened to his son. “Anything he can tell me about this would be very helpful. It’s serious.”

“Shawn, this is really important to you?”

“Extremely.”

“And you’d do anything?”

“Name it.”

Henry smirked and led Shawn around the house to the garage. He dug around and pulled out a some wood covered in a blanket. “Grab a saw.”

“What, now?”

“Well, you said you’d do anything, right?”

Shawn headed into the garage and grabbed a saw. He walked over to his dad. “You know, most people will wait five, six whole minutes before they cash in a favor.” He paused and looked at the blanket. “I will not saw through bone for you.”

Henry chuckled and removed the sheet, revealing a partially finished dog house.

Shawn just stared at it in disbelief. Seriously? “The doghouse? From eighth grade?”

“Well, it’s not really a doghouse. Not yet.”

“What do you want me to do?”

“Finish it.”

Shawn chuckled before looking at his dad’s serious expression.

“What, now?”

“Or whenever you want your information.” Henry headed towards his truck. “You got more wood out back, nails on the workbench, Home Depot’s open till 9:00. Don’t cut any corners.”

“You’re insane!”

“You’re losing light! Make sure you lock up.” Henry drove off.

“It’s creepy that you kept this!”

Shawn stared at the doghouse. He remembered back when he asked for a dog; his dad’s one condition was that he build a doghouse for the dog. Shawn never finished it. He still didn’t know quite how to build a doghouse, it not being something he needed to know in the military. But he’d seen enough people built stuff, it shouldn’t be too hard. Shawn got to work.

* * *

Shawn worked hard on the doghouse. He followed all the specifications his dad gave him back in eighth grade and it was actually looking pretty decent. His dad’s truck pulled into the driveway just as everything fell apart, literally.

Henry walked over as Shawn was putting the last nails in the roof. He was actually impressed with Shawn’s work when one bang of the hammer caused the whole roof to collapse in.

“Fuck!”

“Well, keep working. Don’t be too loud, the neighbors are trying to sleep.” Henry headed inside the house.

Shawn glared at the house and kicked it, causing one of the walls to collapse in too. “Damn it.” He dropped the hammer on the ground and headed to his bike.

He drove around back roads to clear his mind. He needed to get working on this case, if it was poison, he needed to figure out who killed Cavanaugh. He had a nagging suspicion it had something to do with the numbers written in the spell master book. 1953. Maybe it had something to do with the Spelling Bee of 1953? But why would that matter? None of the kids or parents he talked to showed any suspicious behavior. All the kids were pretty quiet and listened to their parents, which was odd in and of itself, but they were all odd kids who loved spelling.

As he was lost in thought, headlights shined in Shawn’s eyes. He quickly realized a van was coming straight for him. He swerved out of the way and skid off the road. His quick reflexes prevented him from flipping over, but his knee got caught under his bike as he slid to a stop. With how heavy bikes are he struggled to free his leg, and could feel it swelling at this angle.

He fumbled to pull his phone out of his jacket. He dialed his second speed dial without thinking about it. His call was answered after a couple rings. “Hey, I could use some help.”

* * *

_1998_

_Shawn pulled up on his bike outside the address he found for Carlton. He had just gotten back from a month-long mission and hadn’t been able to contact Carlton the whole trip. Now they were given a week long leave and Shawn had decided to surprise Carly. He parked his bike and headed up to the door. It was late in the evening, so Carly should be home._

_Shawn knocked and waited. He smiled when Carlton answered, though he was surprised to see a gun tucked behind Carlton’s leg. “Really Carly, I drive all the way here to see you, and you’re going to shoot me?”_

_Carlton relaxed when he recognized Shawn. “I wasn’t expecting any visitors, can’t be too careful.”_

_“You going to let me in, Lassie-frass?”_

_Carlton showed a hint of a smile at the nickname and moved aside so Shawn could enter his home._

_“We got a week’s leave, so I thought I’d come surprise you.”_

_Carlton led the way into the living room and placed his gun on the side table. He turned to face Shawn. “That’s actually sweet of you, Shawn.”_

_“I try.” He stepped into Carlton’s personal space. “Now where’s my hello kiss?”_

_Carlton was more than happy to oblige._


	4. Spellingg Bee Part Two

Shawn laid on the side of the road for almost 30 minutes, and was thrilled to see the maroon Crown Vic pull up. He was less thrilled to see the frustrated expression on the driver’s face, but the glimpse of concern beneath the surface almost made up for it.

“Shawn, you okay?” Carlton climbed out of his car and headed over to where Shawn was stuck under his bike.

“Yeah, Carly, I told you, I’m fine. Just need a little help getting my bike off my leg.”

Carlton walked over and hefted Shawn’s bike up, letting Shawn slide out from under it. He propped it up and turned around, noticing Shawn favor his left leg over his right. “You hurt?”

“No, I’m fine. But I need to get home.” He moved to climb back on his bike and winced when he jostled his knee.

“You’re not getting back on your bike, Spencer. Get in the car, I’ll have someone come pick up your bike in the morning.”

And they’re back to last names again. “I don’t need a ride, Lassiter. I just needed a little help. I appreciate it, but I can get myself home.”

Carlton walked over to Shawn and gently grabbed his arm, holding him back from getting back on the bike. “Get in the car, Spencer. You just crashed that bike, I’m not letting you get back on it.”

“You don’t let me do anything, Lassiter; you’ve made it perfectly clear we aren’t anything, so you don’t get to try and control me.” He yanked his arm from Carlton’s grip.

Carlton sighed. “Spencer, just get in the car…please.”

With the glow from the headlights, Shawn could see the worry and pleading clear as day on Carlton’s face. “Fine. But I have stuff to patch myself up at home. No hospitals.” He limped towards the car.

“You said you were fine, why would you need a hospital?” They climbed into the Crown Vic and Carlton drove them to Shawn’s apartment. They sat in slightly uncomfortable silence.

* * *

The next morning, Gus sat at a table at a restaurant. He’s on the phone with a client when he glanced at the Spelling Bee on TV. The Czech boy in on screen spelling out a word. Between each letter he seemed to be waiting for something. There was a closeup of his inhaler and Gus wrote down the doctor’s name, after hanging up with his client. Something seemed off about this kid. He got a call.

“Shawn? You’re at the hospital?” He waved down a waitress for his check. “What happened?”

* * *

Gus met Shawn outside of the main hospital entrance. “What happened, Shawn?” He noticed the knee brace on his best friend’s knee.

“Oh, that? Nothing, just got ran off the road last night. We’re here to talk to Brendan Vu. I have to be missing something in all of this.” He led his best friend inside the hospital and up to the kid’s room.

“Ran off the road? What are you talking about?”

“Keep up Gus, I was ran off the road last night, likely by our killer. But I’m fine.”

“That limp doesn’t look fine, Shawn.”

“Trust me, I’ve had worse.”

“Did you get it checked out? Are you just now getting released?”

Shawn stopped walking and turned to his friend. “No, I went home last night. It was a minor accident, and Carly took me home-.”

“You called Carlton instead of me?”

“I needed someone that wouldn’t freak out on me.”

“Is there something going on between you and Lassiter?”

“What? No, Gus, don’t be ridiculous.”

“Did you call your dad?”

Shawn almost got whiplash at the topic change. “No, why would I call my dad?”

“You got into an accident last night, you should call him to let him know you’re okay.”

“He doesn’t even know I was in an accident.”

“Because you didn’t call him.”

“All he cares about are results just like those possessed spelling bee parents. Now let’s go work on our case, okay?” They headed to Brendan Vu’s hospital room.

* * *

“Brendan appreciates you checking on him,” Brendan’s mother said. Brendan lied in a hospital bed, with his mother standing next to him and his father residing in a chair behind.

“Well, we were in the neighborhood. And, Gus here is a huge fan. He almost won the spelling bee himself.”

They all glanced at Gus in surprise. “I took some bad advice.”

Shawn looked around the room and noticed Brendan’s inhaler. Looked just like that Czech kid’s. Interesting. He turned back to the family.

“Well, Brendan’s going home tomorrow. He’s fine. He’s more upset about missing the spelling bee.”

Seemed the mother was more upset than the kid. “Well, maybe they’ll decide to redo the whole thing.”

They all looked at him in suspicion. “Why would they do that?”

* * *

Shawn and Gus head out of Vu’s room. Shawn tried to hide how much his knee was bothering him. “Did you see the inhaler?”

“Same one as the little Czech kid?”

Shawn nodded. “Get me a seating chart. I’ll bet you I know who Brendan was sitting next to on day one.”

“I already checked it out.”

“Nice!” They stop walking and Shawn turned to face his friend.

“Shawn, something’s going on with that Czech kid.”

“Talk to me.”

“The doctor on his inhaler, Dr. Zavin, in Ventura?”

“Yeah?”

“He doesn’t exist. I do training on that route. The last doctor in the book is Youngerman. I double-checked it today.”

“You’re saying that inhaler…”

“Is a fake.”

Shawn laughed. Everything was slowly falling into place. He turned and started limping away.

“Where are you going?”

“I am going to build a doghouse!” He needed to know what killed Cavanaugh, and he needed to know it now.

* * *

Shawn sat on a bucket and worked on the roof of the doghouse. He had already fixed the walls and was now trying to figure out what he did wrong with the roofing the first time.

Henry pulled up in his truck with a coffee. He got out and walked over to his son. “I thought you gave up.”

He hadn’t given up on anything since he was a teenager, why couldn’t his dad have a little more faith? “Yeah, well, it doesn’t appear so, huh?”

“What happened to your leg?”

“Absolutely nothing.”

Henry noticed Shawn working on the roofing. “You’re running your roofing vertical there, huh?”

That’s what it looked like, isn’t it? “Yeah.”

“You might want to pop a ridge beam in first.”

Damn it, the ridge beam, that’s what he’d forgotten. “Well, yeah, that’s a given.”

Henry headed into the garage and grabbed a piece of wood. He walked back over and held it in place to be the ridge beam.

“What the hell are you doing?”

“I’m gonna help you.”

“You’ve never helped me before, ever.” Shawn couldn’t believe what he was witnessing.

“You’ve never asked. Put a nail in here.” Henry pointed to a spot on the beam.

Shawn grabbed the hammer and a nail. “All right. This is weird.” He hammered in the nail.

* * *

Later, Henry offered his son a beer from the fridge. Shawn shook his head. He stared out the window at the finished doghouse. It wasn’t too bad for a day’s work.

Henry joined his son at the window and smiled. He was proud to see his son finish something. “Not bad.” He headed into the dining room; his son followed.

““Not bad”? It’s like the Park Hyatt for poodles. Will you call Jack Syklan?”

Henry grabbed a file folder off the counter and offered it to Shawn.

“What’s this?”

“Your results. We had an agreement.” Shawn went to grab it but his dad moved it out of his reach. “This is a derivative of methyl parathion. High-grade stuff. Whatever you’re into, I want you to get out quick. I’m not kidding.” He handed over the file.

Shawn flipped through file. “Wait a sec. How did you get this so quickly?”

Henry sat down and opened his beer. “Hmm? Oh, Syklan’s a part of my poker game.”

“So you didn’t even have to call him?”

“That game was at his house.”

“And I did all of that for nothing?”

“For nothing? Shawn, you’ve never completed a thing in your life. Now, you have.”

Shawn didn’t even know what to say. His dad knew he was in the military, how could he say he’d never finished anything before. He opened his mouth with a few choice words to say but then thought better of it and left the house without a word.

* * *

Carlton was sick of all these shenanigans. There was a 50-50 chance that what Shawn said would actually be useful, if only he could get them the information without making a complete idiot out of himself; though this was more subdued than his normal performances.

“Poisoned?” The Chief didn’t believe what she was hearing.

“I feel somebody poisoned his food. There is a Styrofoam container, yes, and a…”Happiness is a golden poem”. What?” He motioned with his hand and makes a cracking noise. “A fortune cookie!”

Carlton had had enough. “This is ridiculous.”

“Is it?”

Carlton turned and looked at his new partner. She couldn’t be serious. Just what he needed, a gullible partner who believed the psychic nonsense.

“Mr. Spencer, what we have now points to a medical condition, not murder. All appearances show Mr. Cavanaugh having an anaphylactic reaction,” the Chief pointed out.

Gus put in his two cents. “Not to be out of line, but that could be triggered by several types of poisons or altered medications.”

“Or shellfish, which he was allergic to.” Carlton mentioned a more likely option.

“Those results will show up in the toxicology report, which we will have a copy of in approximately two weeks.”

“No, no, no! Chief, that’ll be too late.” He stood up. “All the contestants will be gone-.” He hit his knee against the chair and paused a second to collect himself. Carlton glanced at Shawn, reluctantly concerned. “Home. You won’t be able to finish a real investigation. Chief! I sense this. Look, something got out of control and the perpetrator was willing to kill to cover it up!”

“What proof do you have?”

The room fell silent. Carlton watched Shawn’s expression. He knew immediately that Shawn had proof and wasn’t sharing it. Damn it, Spencer.

“Only what I feel.” Shawn knew his answer wasn’t enough.

Carlton was done with this, he needed Spencer to quit hiding stuff from them. “Why are you still listening to this crap?”

“Dude, what is your glitch?”

“You! You are my glitch. You were supposed to be working the inhaler problem, and what do you do? You announce to the press that there’s suddenly a murder without any proof! Now you want us to believe a bunch of psychic feelings?” He needed Spencer to be honest. He couldn’t work with someone who was constantly full of shit. “Cut him loose, Karen!”

The Chief immediately sent him an annoyed look.

Carlton stepped back. “I mean, do whatever you think is best, Chief.”

Gus cut through the sudden awkward moment. “Mr. Cavanaugh was gonna make an announcement. What about that?”

“The Director said he’d recently spoken of retiring,” Juliet said.

Shawn knew that wasn’t it. “That’s not what he was going to say.”

“Oh, you know?”

Shawn was done with Carlton’s doubt. His tone made that clear. “I know.”

“Mr. Spencer, I asked you to check in about the inhaler incident. If you or your partner have anything about that, I’d be happy to hear about it. Otherwise…” She waved the two of them out of her office.

* * *

Shawn and Gus walked out of the Chief’s office. “We gotta get back into the Spell Master’s room.”

“Are you serious?” Gus asks.

“Gus, the killer was there! There’s got to be some other piece of evidence inside.”

They were about to head out of the station, when Carlton exited the Chief’s office. “Spencer!”

Shawn sighed. “I’ll be out in a sec.” Gus nodded and headed out to the Blueberry. He turned to face his ex. “What’s up, Lassie?”

Carlton didn’t say a word and merely dragged Shawn to a secluded hallway. “Tell me what you know, Spencer.”

“I told you everything I know, Lassiter. It’s all in here,” he pointed at his head. “And if you don’t believe me, then I have nothing more to say.” He tried to move past Carlton, but was stopped by a hand on his arm.

“Give me something, Spencer. I know you have tangible proof you’re not sharing. I can’t go on your hunch if I don’t know the whole story.” He wanted to be more forceful, demand answers, but that’d never worked with Shawn. Not outside of the bedroom.

Shawn was hesitant for a minute. He couldn’t blow his psychicness, not to Lassie, not now. But he needed them to listen to him about this. He nodded. “The poison is a derivative of methyl parathion. That’s all I can say.”

“Why couldn’t you say that before?”

“Because it’s more…specific than most of my visions are. Didn’t want any questions.”

Carlton rolled his eyes. At least he was a little honest. “Okay, we’ll check it out…How’s the leg?” As much as he didn’t want to care about Sha-Spencer, he did and could tell he was in pain.

Shawn gave an over the top smile. “Oh the legs practically as good as new. Nothing to worry about. Now I gotta go, Gus gets hangry if he doesn’t eat every hour, on the hour.” He slipped past Carlton and limped out of the station.

Carlton headed off to tell Juliet to look more into the poison, not at all worrying about Shawn as he does.

* * *

_2001_

_Shawn drove up to the house on his bike. The familiar sight was exactly what he needed to see. The mission had ended poorly and they were given a month of leave. What he really needed was to see Lassie. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his home number, not recognizing the car in the drive and wanting to check that it was okay to come up. He was shocked when a woman answered the phone._

_“Lassiter residence.”_

_“Uh, hi, I am calling to speak with Carlton.”_

_“He’s not here at the moment, may I take a message?”_

_Shawn didn’t want to leave a message, he needed to see Carly. “Who am I speaking with?”_

_“Oh, I’m sorry, this is Victoria, Carlton’s fiancée.”_

_Those words tore at Shawn’s heart. Fiancée? He knew he’d been out of touch for awhile, but he thought after two years that they’d had something. Something real. This news just made a bad day worse. Shawn felt like he couldn’t breathe, his whole world was crashing down around him._

_“Hello? Are you there?”_

_Shawn jolted out of his thoughts. “Sorry, I’ll call back later.” He quickly hung up the phone and tried to get himself together. It took him a few minutes, but eventually he was able to climb back on his bike and drive off. Maybe Gus would be happy to see him._

* * *

Shawn and Gus snuck into the Spelling Bee by stealing the new Spell Master’s jacket, and headed up to the Spell Master’s room.

They headed inside and Shawn slammed his knee into the desk. He dropped to the floor with a loud groan.

“Sh!” Gus looked around to see if anyone heard that.

“I’m so sorry if my agonizing pain is inconveniencing you.” Shawn looked at the floor and noticed three identical indents in the carpeting. “What’s this?”

Gus glanced down. “It’s a mark on a carpet. Let’s go. Someone must have heard that.”

“Thirty seconds. Live to air. Positions, please.” A voice came through the speaker on the desk.

“Time’s up, Shawn.”

Shawn stood up with a grunt and headed towards the closet.

“Did you hear me, Shawn?” The Bee was about to start and they needed to get out of here.

“I’ve got something!” He pulled a camera and tripod out of the closet and lined it up with the markings on the floor. “Yes!” It faced the back wall. “That can’t be right.”

“Ten seconds. Prepare the next word.” The voice rang out from the speaker.

“It doesn’t mean anything, Shawn, let’s go.”

“Broadcast in five, four, three, two…”

Shawn picked up the camera and turned it. He looked through the lens, but it pointed at an auditorium wall. Nothing of interest.

“Hello? We need the word now. Is everything okay?” The whole auditorium waited for the next word. “Something’s wrong. Send security.”

Shawn rushed to the speaker and clicked the speak button. “No, sorry for the delay.” He turned to Gus. “Give me a word.”

“A word?”

“Yes! Something hard, but something you can spell.”

Gus looked indignant. “I can spell anything.”

“Except “Aggiornamento.” Give me one!”

“No! You are not going to be Spell Master.”

Is he being serious right now? “Gus, give me a word so we can get out of here! We’re so close!”

Gus shook his head and stayed silent.

“Is everything okay up there?” The audience was still waiting for a word.

Shawn spoke through the speaker again. “Everything’s fine.” He racked his brain for a minute before speaking into the microphone. “Opprobrious.”

Gus stared at his best friend in shock. “Where did you learn that word?”

Shawn rolled his eyes and grabbed the camera again, re-positioning it. “It was a word you studied for the spelling bee. Obviously.”

“Definition please?”

“What?” Shawn was frustrated. He was so close. He moved back to the microphone. “Something disrespectful, shameful, or disgraceful.” He headed back to the camera as the girl thought through the word. “Oh, wait a second! I’ve got something!” The camera pointed at the Czech father. “Dude, we got him! He was watching the Czech.”

“Let me see.” He walked over to the camera, shoving Shawn out of the way.

“We need to get to the next word.” The audience was once again waiting on Shawn.

Shawn sorted through words again in his head, before speaking into the mic. “Mellifluous.”

Gus was once again shocked by Shawn’s knowledge. He forgot how smart Shawn was sometimes. They quickly put the camera back and slipped out of the room before the girl finished spelling the word.

* * *

Shawn and Gus ducked when the new Spell Master walked by them with security. They waited for him to pass before they walked on into the lobby of the convention center.

“So, he was watching the Czech, we have no proof. There was no film in the camera!” Gus said.

“He was using that lens for something else besides taking pictures. Now, what?” They were still missing something.

“Cavanaugh was known for ferreting out rule breakers. He once caught a kid stealing the advance word list. And everything he did had a purpose.” Gus grabbed a pamphlet as they passed a table with them.

They headed inside the auditorium and to two seats, right across the aisle from the Czech father. There were two contestants left at this point, the Czech’s kid, Jiri, and another speller.

Gus looked through the pamphlet. “Pfft. Look at this. Brendan Vu went down on “gladiolus.””

“So?”

“So? If I’d been able to see any of the competition, I could have told you that was the winning word from the first spelling bee in 1929.”

“Okay, you’re scaring me again.”

“All of these words from that round were the winning words. They do that once in a while, they make it a theme round. This one won the 1985 bee. This one from 1943.”

“Gus, what are you saying?”

“Guess which kid got the winning word from 1953?”

Shawn quickly put it all together. “The Czech kid.” Gus nodded. Everything was falling into place. 1953 was written for the Jiri, and Cavanaugh was clearly watching his father. That must mean Gus was right, there was cheating involved. He watched the Czech as his son was given the next word. The Czech opened his dictionary and quickly found the word; he then tapped out Morse code onto his palm. Shawn looked closely and spotted a sensor.

Shawn glanced at the stage and noticed the tight grip the Czech kid had on the fake inhaler. It all made sense. The father tapped out the letters for the kid to say. “I got him.”

“Let’s call the chief.”

* * *

It didn’t take long for Shawn to make a complete fool of himself in front of the full auditorium. Carlton watched from the side with the Chief and Juliet. His mind drifted when he saw a strip of Spencer’s stomach. His gaze drifted upwards and wished for a split second that they were back at Spencer’s apartment, maybe he’d stop by again tonight. He heard faintly the Chief talking about Spencer and his comment slipped out without him thinking about it. “Want me to cuff him?”

“Why, why would I want that?”

Carlton shrugged. He could think of a few reasons to cuff Spencer. “Just a suggestion.” He quit zoning out and listened to what Spencer was saying.

They listened as Shawn ranted about how Cavanaugh was obsessed with cheating and had discovered that the Czech was cheating. After the Czech got rid of the biggest competition, he got rid of Cavanaugh to prevent being revealed. Leaving the only proof to be the inhaler the kid held in his hand. He then mentioned that the Czech likely drove him off the road last night.

Carlton was shocked. Why hadn’t Shawn told him he was driven off the road?

Juliet spoke up when Shawn mentioned finding evidence of the poisons. Preliminary tests had shown that Shawn was right, there likely was poison in the food.

Shawn glanced at Carlton, knowing he had told Juliet to do it, grateful that he had finally listened to him and had the tests run. He waited off to the side as the father and son were taken into custody.

* * *

_2001_

_Shawn stood next to his brothers at the funeral. The Hell Hounds watched with heavy hearts as their brother in arms was lowered into the ground. Gus stood in the crowd, there to support his best friend._

_After the funeral, the brothers and their families went to their favorite bar to celebrate the life of their lost friend. Shawn was abnormally quiet; he had lost two people he loved in less than a month and he wasn’t handling it well._

_One of his brothers, Ryan “Cards” Jackson, sat down next to him. “Where’s your special friend? I thought you were going to bring him around?”_

_Don’t Ask Don’t Tell prevented Shawn from officially dating a guy, but his team had no secrets. His brothers didn’t care who he dated, as long as he was happy._

_Shawn downed the last of his whiskey. “He’s engaged.”_

_“What? I thought you two were serious?”_

_“So did I, but I guess not. I went back to surprise him, and his fiancée answered the phone.”_

_“Shit, Spencer, I’m sorry.” Cards waved down the bartender for another round of shots._

* * *

Shawn headed home after Gus quit chasing after him. He knew that giving Gus the wrong letter had been the best option for their future, and he was right! He didn’t know why his friend couldn’t see that. He passed out on his couch almost immediately, exhausted from running around on this case for days.

Shawn was woken by knocking at his door around 10pm. He grumbled and shuffled to the door, not shocked at all to see Carly on the other side. He was quickly pulled into a heated kiss, and damn it felt good. But he had enough of being used by Lassie for sex. The sex wasn’t helping their relationship, not like they had much of one, and maybe that was the problem. Shawn wanted Lassie-frass back in his life.

He broke the kiss and gently pushed Carlton away. “We can’t keep doing this.”

Carlton took a second for his head to clear. “What, why?”

“Because there’s too much hot sauce on the wings and not enough milk in the fridge. I need more milk, Lassie, and if you’re not willing to get some more, then you need to stop eating the wings.”

Carlton stared at Shawn for a few moments, trying to figure out what he just said.

Shawn sighed. “I want more than just sex, Carly, and if you don’t, fine. But then the sex needs to stop…I know you care about me, I can see it. And this sex only situation isn’t helping either of us, we’re still fighting like crazy, at each other’s throats. We should, as much as I hate to say it, talk about us.”

A million thoughts race through Carlton’s mind, first that Shawn’s analogies were ridiculous, yet endearing. Second that he didn’t want to talk about feelings right now. Not at all, because he didn’t even know what he felt for Shawn. His third thought was to bolt, which is exactly what he did. He turned and left the apartment, once Shawn finished talking, and closed the door behind him.

Shawn stared after Lassie, hoping if he stared long enough that he’d come back. After a few minutes he pushed past the slight heartbreak and headed to bed, he had an early day in the morning, teaching recruits at the nearby military base as punishment for making the papers as a psychic.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's the second episode of the series. So I've had a lot of comments and I appreciate each and every one! I've decided not to do every episode in the series, that'd take forever, but any suggestions for what episodes I should do?? Also, I also had suggestions to not do episodes at all and focus more on Shawn and Carlton. Thoughts?? I want to write what y'all want to read! I can't wait to hear from you guys! Hope you enjoyed these two new chapters! :)


	5. Interlude

Carlton drove home with a lot on his mind. The last thing he had expected to happen when he went to Spencer's was that he would want to talk. They had a good thing going with their sex only encounters. Carlton didn’t see the need to ruin that with their past.

When he got home, Carlton forewent his usual whiskey and headed straight to bed. He hoped to fall asleep quickly and avoid thinking about the situation entirely. However, luck wasn’t on his side, and he laid in bed for hours with just his thoughts to keep him company.

He honestly could not figure out how he felt about Spencer. There was a ton of history there that made everything immensely complicated. When he looked back on their relationship, he felt passion and lust that he still felt today, but also a lot of pain and disappointment. When he had desperately needed Spencer's comfort, Spencer hadn’t been there. This had led him to Victoria and that added more complications.

Carlton loved Victoria. Even now that they were separated, he still loved her. It wasn’t as strong as when they first got married and was fading a little every day they were apart, but it was still there. She was his wife, his everything, for 3 and a half years; it was going to take time to truly move on.

He wasn’t completely over Victoria just yet, and Spencer wanted to have a real relationship? Carlton did not think he could really commit to someone like Spencer right now. Especially not with all the lying and secrets Spencer was keeping. For some reason, Spencer wasn’t active in the military at the moment, and now he was suddenly a psychic, something he never claimed to be before. Carlton couldn’t trust him; and he definitely couldn’t let himself fall for him again, not when lying was against his moral code.

He couldn’t give Spencer what he wanted, and he couldn’t get the sex that he had wanted. Now he just hoped Spencer would up and leave again, something he was very good at.

* * *

Carlton got very little sleep over the next several days, plagued by his thoughts, leaving him bitter and irritable at work. After awhile of this, even Juliet was avoiding him at the station. When they were given the case of the missing wedding ring, he almost decided to take one of his many available sick days and let Juliet handle it. The last thing he needed on no sleep and with the thoughts of his exes plaguing him, was a wedding to deal with.

He blamed his bad theories on his lack of sleep. With a more rational mind, he knew the idea of a scaled replica of the vault would be unlikely. Throughout the case he was followed by thoughts of his own wedding to Victoria, how they met, and the memories of their years together. He was almost thankful for the small reprieve he got from thinking about Spencer. But thoughts of Spencer quickly returned when Spencer got involved in the case.

By the day of the wedding, Carlton was absolutely exhausted. He hadn’t even had time to use the hotel room he had booked to get some much needed sleep. Then he found out that someone matching Spencer's description had racked up bills on his room and he was furious. He dragged Juliet to the wedding, and they waited in the back for it to end.

Carlton couldn’t believe Spencer would accumulate charges like that for him to pay. It was childish, stupid, rude…and totally something Spencer would do. It was his way at getting back at Carlton for walking out, he was sure of it. He was going to make Spencer pay, literally.

All thoughts of payback disappeared when Spencer stood up to disrupt the wedding. Spencer was looking quite dashing in his suit. Carlton’s thoughts drifted and all he wanted to do was drag Spencer up to that hotel room and remove that suit as quickly as possible. He was knocked back to reality when the Chief entered the room.

The rest of the day passed in a blur and Carlton was still furious by the time he got home late that night. He had a long day of paperwork and he still had to pay that $1600 bill that Spencer had racked up for him.

He knew for sure that he couldn’t be with Spencer, not now, probably not ever again. Not when the man acted like a child. Not when the man was prone to leaving, and especially not when the man was lying every day and interfering in Carlton’s life.

* * *

_2001_

_“-Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”_

_Carlton hung up his phone and slipped it into his pocket. That was the sixth time he’d called Shawn, and the sixth time he’d gotten his voicemail. He waved down the bartender for another whiskey. Today had been rough and all he wanted to do was hear Shawn’s voice, maybe ask him to come home so he could feel him safe and sound in his arms._

_It had been a 10-54, possible dead body. Someone had called it in to dispatch, and Carlton and his partner were first on scene, followed by a couple rookie officers. They entered the seemingly empty house, Carlton first, followed by a rookie, then his partner, and so on. They followed Carlton’s lead and entered guns drawn. Carlton entered first, did a quick eye sweep of the room then turned right. That’s when time slowed._

_Carlton saw from the corner of his eye a man stepping out from a far room down the hall, gun drawn and a shot rang off before Carlton could blink. It hit the rookie in the throat. His partner got a shot off, taking down the shooter, but it was too late. The damage had been done. They had an officer down._

_Carlton was immediately on his knees and putting pressure on the wound; it looked like it hit the carotid artery. The rookie was dead within minutes._

_Carlton could still feel the blood on his fingers as he drank his whiskey. He pulled out his phone again, sighed at the blank screen then pocketed it once more._

_A woman sat down next to Carlton in the busy bar. They barely acknowledged each other as Carlton downed the last of his whiskey and laid a few bills on the counter. He then left the bar._

* * *

_Carlton did the same thing every day for a week. He went to the bar after work, had a couple drinks, then went home. Every day he called Shawn and every day he got his voicemail. Every day the same woman sat next to him, and every day they barely acknowledged each other. Neither of them were looking for company, instead just looking to not be alone in their apartments during difficult times._

_It was on the 7 th day in a row that Carlton was finally recovering from the stupor he’d been in for days. He finally took in his surroundings, and finally noticed the simple, yet beautiful woman he’d been sitting next to for several evenings. That evening he bought her a drink. They didn’t say much, merely acknowledged each other’s presence. _

_The next day, she bought him a drink._

_This continued for a few a couple more days before finally they exchanged names. Her name was Victoria._

* * *

Juliet knew something was going on between Shawn and Carlton, she just didn’t know exactly what. Ever since the case of the missing wedding ring, things had been extremely tense between them. Carlton still despised Shawn working on their cases, but there seemed to be extra heat behind all his comments. When it came to Shawn, his usual blasé responses to Carlton were gone, and instead there was anger and frustration behind his conversations with the Head Detective. Something had happened, and Juliet was determined to find out what was going on.

The two of them argued about everything. They argued about Shawn giving Carlton credit, about Shawn’s visions; they even argued about how Carlton took his coffee. Arguing about everything wasn’t unusual for them, except now it seemed like their words were meant to truly hurt the other.

Shawn’s visions became more restrained. Less flopping around and more to the point. Juliet even noticed Shawn refrain from groping Carlton like he’d done in the past. It was nice for Shawn to get to the point instead of beating around the bush, but it also seemed wrong. Shawn was playful and extravagant, that was who he was, and it was weird to seem him restraining himself.

It wasn’t until the Civil War reenactment case that Juliet caught on to something she hadn’t known before. She was standing next to Shawn while Carlton was speaking to the reenactors, still wearing his fake facial hair, when he made a comment.

“I always told Carly he’d look weird with a goatee.” Shawn then walked off to talk to Sally Reynolds, the female reenactor.

Juliet’s eyes widened and it all fell into place. The two of them had history. A lot more history than Juliet had thought. She thought they’d met the month before she joined the team, but the way Shawn said "always" implied that there was a longer relationship there. It all made sense. They had known each other a long time and something had happened in their past. Had they been acquaintances? Friends? What had happened between them to cause such hatred and tension?

It wasn’t until after Chief had her baby that Juliet felt she and her partner were close enough for her to ask. Over the past two months they’d been slowly getting to know each other and feel each other out. She knew enough about Carlton now that he’d want her to confront him if his attitude was affecting their work. She had a feeling that if this bickering, borderline fighting, didn’t stop soon, it’d start affecting the quality of work on the cases themselves.

She approached Carlton after they successfully closed the case involving Captain Connors. She was finished with her paperwork and no one was really around to listen to their conversation. She headed over to Carlton’s desk and waited for him to acknowledge her.

He glanced up from his work. “What is it, O’Hara?”

“We need to talk about you and Shawn.” She watched her partner tense up, a guarded look on his face.

“There’s nothing about Spencer and me to talk about.”

“Yes there is. The fighting is getting worse between you two and soon it’s going to start affecting your work.”

He quickly became defensive. “I would never let anything affect my work.” 

“Maybe not intentionally. But if it keeps escalating like it’s been doing, soon you’ll both be so focused on hurting each other, that the case will take the back burner. I don’t want that to happen.” He stared at her. She paused. “Is there a history between you and Shawn? Did you know him before he started working for the SBPD?”

Several looks fell over her partner’s face before it returned to defensive. “That’s none of your business.”

“It _is_ my business if your attention is more on Shawn than it is our cases. I’m your partner, I need to know what’s going on. I can’t keep mediating your petty arguments if I don’t know why they’re happening.”

“I don’t believe he’s a psychic. That’s all.”

Juliet trusted in her detective skills. She knew that wasn’t the full truth. “Partner’s don’t lie to each other, Carlton. Don’t start lying to me now. There’s too much anger and tension there to just be a disagreement like that. There’s more to the story.”

Carlton observed her for awhile, watching as she didn’t back down when he didn’t respond. He slowly relaxed and leaned back in his chair, defeated. “Spencer and I used to be…friends. Years ago, before I married Victoria.”

Juliet took his hesitation as reluctance to talk about the subject. “What happened between you two?”

“He took off. Left to work one of his many jobs, never looked back. It was his specialty.”

“And now?”

“And now he’s back and interfering with police investigations that he has no business being involved in.”

Juliet decided not to push the topic of why they are not friends anymore. She knew she wouldn’t get a straight answer tonight. “How could you have been friends and not believe that he’s psychic?”

“He wasn’t psychic then.” Carlton then continued his work, effectively ending the conversation.

Juliet headed back to her desk with a thousand new questions. Shawn claimed to have the gift his whole life, so why wouldn’t he tell Carlton if they were friends? Or was Shawn lying? Was Carlton lying? What else happened when Shawn left to make their interactions now so bitter? Why did they seem to despise each other now?

Maybe she’d have to talk to Shawn.

* * *

_1998_

_“Coop, I met someone.” Shawn dropped his bag in his cage, before heading over to Cooper’s and sitting next to said guy._

_Cooper “Coop” Wilson looked up from digging through his bag to look at his friend, his brother. The tall brunette took in the look of awe on his friend’s face and knew this someone wasn’t just a onetime thing. “Tell me about them.”_

_Shawn’s mind quickly recalled every second Carlton and he spent together. “They have eyes like the ocean, blue as can be. And their smile, though rare, could light up a room. Oh and their body-.”_

_“Okay, I don’t need those kinds of details. I meant more of what are they like, what do they do, how’d you meet.”_

_Shawn returned to the present moment and smiled. “Right. We met at a bar, and damn can I pick ‘em.”_

* * *

Shawn parked his motorcycle in its usual spot and headed inside his apartment building. He headed up to the 3rd floor and down the hall to his apartment. He froze when he noticed his door ajar. He reached for a gun that he no longer carried and cursed in frustration. He slowly approached his apartment and quietly pushed the door open, far enough for him to slip through. He quickly scanned what he could see before reaching into the plant by the front door and pulling out a handgun.

Shawn quickly and methodically searched and cleared his apartment for any intruders. There was no one in sight and he noticed nothing had been taken. He searched his apartment a second time before he lowered his weapon. He found nothing out of place.

He returned his gun to the plant then closed and locked his front door. He pulled out his cell phone and sent out a text.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry the chapter is so short, but I wanted to get something out for you guys. Next up: From Earth to Starbucks. Let me know what you think in the comments! I love you all and thanks for the support! :)


	6. From the Earth to Starbucks

Shawn was disappointed to say the least. He watched the girl walk away, talking to her soon to be fiancé. She was supposed to be his distraction; something he desperately needed with everything that’s going on.

Shawn was exhausted. The past couple months had been full of nonstop cases and while that was great, having to deal with Lassie on the daily was taking its toll. Shawn was honestly fed up with their constant fighting. He always came out of it feeling worse than when it started, even if he got the last word. He cared for Lassie, a lot, and attacking him just left him feeling empty inside.

Add to that the fact that someone broke into his apartment a few days ago, and Shawn was drained. That’s why he’d agreed to go out with the girl in the first place; he needed to get his mind off his life. So much for that.

Shawn grabbed his drink and headed off towards the bar. He paused when he noticed the last person he wanted to see right now. He almost ignored him, but Carlton looked drunk and miserable; he had to make sure he was okay.

“Lassie?”

Carlton looked up from the table and smiled. “Spencer! Why am I surprised?”

Shawn glanced over his ex. His sleeves were rolled up, his tie loosened, and there was a slight edge to his voice that suggested he’d had a little too much to drink. “Why are you wasted?” He walked over to Carlton’s table.

“Hey, you like scotch, right? Miss!” Carlton turned and ordered two more scotches from the waitress. Shawn motioned to her that they didn’t need any more, Carlton had had plenty to drink. “Listen, there is something I have got to get off my chest.”

“Is it your shirt? Please say yes.”

“You…astound me.”

Shawn tensed, Carlton wouldn’t compliment him sober, and he didn’t feel comfortable being complimented when Carlton wouldn’t remember it the next day; it wasn’t real. “Come again?”

“It's beyond astounding. It is some of the most impressive reasoning I've ever seen.”

“Is there a punch line coming? Let's get to it.”

“I don't know how you do it. I mean, it's not psychic-ness, we both know that's a crock of crap. But you, sir, are unstoppable, guaranteed arrest.” Carlton downed the rest of his drink.

“What's happening here?”

“Can I tell you a secret?”

“I wouldn't recommend it, no.”

Carlton moved around the table and sat on the stool closest to Shawn. “I can’t let myself love you again.”

“What?” That was not what Shawn was expecting.

“I really want to, you’re everything I want, but you left me.” A vulnerable tone took over his voice.

“I didn’t-.”

“I needed you and you weren’t there…Victoria was, and she’s left me too.”

Shawn’s heart broke a little at the tone in his voice. He hadn’t left Carlton, Carlton left him, but with the sincerity in his voice, Shawn almost wanted to believe him. Maybe he did leave Carlton.

“You know how everyone thinks my wife and I have been separated for nine months?”

Shawn left his thoughts and rejoined the conversation. “Yes.”

“Two years. Two years tonight. And I'm the one who keeps trying to fix the thing. I mean-.” Carlton leaned back in his seat and Shawn had to quickly reach out and grab the man before he fell. “-counseling, therapy, acupuncture, you name it. I have tried to try to try it.”

Shawn had no idea they’d been apart for so long. And to think that Carlton thought people kept abandoning him, it hurt Shawn to see Carlton this way. He deserved better, better than this Victoria.

“You know, I used to be a good cop. Seriously. Stunning arrest record. It was one of the best in the department. I caught the Back Bay Killer.”

Used to be? Carlton was still an amazing cop. “Yes, you did. I remember it well.”

“Although I had a tip.”

Shawn nodded. “The blue sedan.”

“Yeah.” Carlton paused and then looked at Shawn in shock. His voice shrunk. “That was you?”

Shit. “…It might have been.”

“See what I mean?” Carlton turned away from Shawn and faced the table.

“Come on, you still had to put it all together, right?” Shawn walked around and sat down across from Lassie.

“Spencer, the blue sedan was the key to the whole thing. It was the murderer's car.”

“Yeah, but who had to run the plates? And all those numbers and letters could have confused many a cop.”

“Spencer, stop, okay? I am done. Here.” Carlton reached into his pocket and pulled out his handcuffs. “I want you to have these. I don't need them. I am over.” He placed them onto the table.

This was ridiculous. “All right, just stop this. This is nonsense. You're not over. Look, you're a striking man with strong features, eyes that I-women want to do cannonballs into. You’re intelligent and amazing-.”

Carlton shook his head. “No, I have officially hit rock bottom. A month ago, I got this case, right? A healthy 42-year-old astronomer dies. Doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, spends all day in an ergonomically designed chair, charting the night sky. Natural causes, that's what the coroner comes back with. Does a full autopsy. No red flags. Nothing. I know he was murdered. I just can't...”

“Prove it?”

“Prove it! The department won't even let me pursue it.”

“Come on, you'll figure it out.”

“No, I won't. I can't. And I've accepted that.”

“All right, look, Lassie, Carlton. I believe in you. I really do. You just gotta trust your instincts.”

Shrieking interrupted his next words and the girl from earlier comes running over. Seriously bad timing.

“I just got engaged!”

Shawn hid his frustration at being interrupted and faked excitement. “Oh my god.”

“Thank you, thank you.” The girl ran off again.

“I’ll never ever see you again. Bye.”

Shawn heard a thump and turned around to see Lassie on the ground, passed out. Shawn sighed. He couldn’t just leave him there. Shawn pocketed the handcuffs before he sat on the ground next to Carlton and spent the next 20 minutes trying to wake the guy enough so he could help him to his car. He and Carlton stumbled out to the detective’s Crown Vic and Shawn helped the man into the back seat. He found the keys in Carlton’s front pocket and climbed in the driver’s seat. He drove towards the detective’s home.

The whole ride he gave some thought to what Carlton said. The man had lost hope and Shawn was determined to help the man find it again, even if it meant working alongside the man. He still cared deeply for Carlton, more so than he expected to ever care about him again. He realized that he’d do anything to help Carly if the man needed it, even at his own expense.

Carlton thought he’d been abandoned by Shawn, something Shawn didn’t see. If anyone abandoned the other, Carlton abandoned him when he got engaged. But Carlton said he’d needed Shawn and he wasn’t there. Did something happen during those six months he was gone? Was six months an unreasonable time to expect someone to wait for you? Was Shawn in the wrong this whole time? He needed to find out why Carly thought he’d abandoned him.

He reached Carlton’s house and parked the car out front. He gently woke Carlton back up and helped the drunk man into his home. He plopped Carlton on his bed and headed to the kitchen. Shawn wrote the man a quick note before heading out of the home.

He sat on the front steps of the house and called his best friend for a ride.

* * *

Shawn and Gus headed into the police station in the morning, though Gus wasn’t quite sure why they’re there.

“Shawn, what are we doing here?”

Shawn scanned the station until he spotted Lassie heading up the stairs. “I’ll be right back.” He walked off, leaving his best friend by the entrance. He immediately knew when Carlton noticed him because the man’s demeanor went from relaxed to frustrated in a matter of moments. He caught up to the head detective and walked alongside him. “How are you doing, Lassie?”

“What do you want, Spencer?”

“I just want to make sure you’re alright, after last night.”

Carlton stopped walking and faced Shawn. “Look, last night didn’t happen, alright? Just forget it.”

“I know you were having a rough night. Everyone has a drink too many on occasion, it’s nothing to be embarrassed about.”

“I’m not embarrassed, Spencer, I just don’t want to talk about it. Now get lost.” He turned to head to his desk.

“I know last night was a rough anniversary for you.”

Carlton tensed and turned back to Shawn, furious. “What did I tell you last night?”

“Nothing, just about your separation. I’m really sorry, Carly.”

“I don’t need your pity, Spencer. Now leave.” He turned and walked away.

Shawn regretted saying anything at all. He wanted to fix things with Lassie, not make them worse. And after last night, he thought there might be a chance they could be together again, he just had to figure out how. But the first step, solve the case for Carly.

He headed back over to Gus. “We have to solve that case.”

“What case?”

“The one I told you about last night. The one Lassiter can't solve.”

“He's gonna hire us for a case?”

Don’t be ridiculous, Gus. “Oh, god, no. He'd never do that.”

“So, we won't get paid?”

“Exactly.”

“And we're just doing it for the glory?”

“Nope. We give Lassiter all the credit. In fact, I don't even think he can know we're helping him.”

“Dude, that's a good idea, Shawn. I ditch out of work on the day we release three new products to spend time on an unsolvable case in which we won't get paid and someone else gets all the credit. That, quite honestly, is some of the best nut-shelling I've ever heard.” It sounded like a good idea to Shawn. “We made a deal. Yesterday. We're equal partners. That means we collectively decide which appointments to make, which cases to take. We have to live by that, at least for a day, especially today.”

“You're right.”

“Thank you.”

“It's gonna be a problem, though.”

“Why?”

“'Cause we've already got a meeting with the dead guy's widow.”

“When?”

“Ten minutes.”

“Ten minutes?”

“Look, don't worry. I'm gonna do it in the Chief's office. Just need you to stand guard at the door, make sure no one catches us in there. It's gonna double the excitement. Maybe triple it. Now, come on, who's in?” Shawn held out his fist for a fist-bump. Gus looked at him in disbelief. “Don't fool around. You know I can't hold my hand like this for very long.”

Gus turned and headed out of the station.

“Gus, I get very poor circulation to the limbic regions. And now my pinky's going numb.”

* * *

Shawn interviewed the widow by himself, finding out that things started to change for the dead guy about two weeks into last summer when he started working really long hours. At one point the widow assumed her husband was cheating on her, but Shawn doubted it.

Afterwards he ran into Juliet, explained what he was doing, and she agreed to help. The only problem was that Shawn was surprised when she didn’t ask him why he was helping Lassiter. It was a logical thing to ask after they’ve been arguing so much, and Gus was sure to ask. So why didn’t Juliet?

Shawn headed back to the office and laid the case out on their glass board. He used the case to distract himself from thinking about what Carly had said last night. But a nagging feeling that he was missing something stuck with him. Carlton thought he left him, but Shawn never did, so why did he feel abandoned?

Shawn had to forcibly remove himself from his thoughts and focus on the case. He called his dad to ask him a few questions and was shocked when he didn’t answer after two rings like he always did. Where was Henry and why wasn’t he at home? Gus chose that moment to head into the office.

“My dad is not answering his phone.”

“So?”

“So, he's always home, and he always answers his phone after two rings. This is actually somewhat troubling.”

“Why?”

“Why? Fish derby is on.”

Gus noticed the board. “What is this?”

It was clearly the case. What else would he be working on. “It's the Bryant Vallery case.”

“The one from this morning?” Gus walked over and glanced over the board.

“And the rest of the week. I predict we will solve it Friday at 10:01 p.m. And then maybe watch some cable.”

“Sounds great.” Gus walked over to Shawn’s desk. “And did you find a partner that's willing to do this with you?”

“Jules is in. My dad is clearly missing, or something. Dude, that leaves you! Gus, you get to step up in a big fat way.

“You have one job. I have two jobs, Shawn. I have presentations to memorize on three new drugs. And while you were out drinking last night, with Lassiter of all people, and taking on free cases, I was up half the night dreaming about whether the gel caps are more effective than the tablets. Why are you so set on taking this case? You and Lassiter have been at each other’s throats for weeks! And now you want to help him? It makes no sense.”

“First of all, tablets. Always tablets, that's a given. Secondly, it’s not like I hate Lassie and he’s having a rough time. I felt like he could use some help, just this once.”

“Does this have something to do with you two having history? I thought that was all over. Do you still have feelings for him?”

When did his best friend get so observant? “No Gus, don’t be the broken crayon in the brand new box. Of course not.”

Gus stared at him a moment. “You’re lying.”

“No, I’m not.”

“Yes you are. You have feelings for Lassiter! When were you going to tell me? I thought with all the arguing that you’d gotten over him.”

Shawn sighed. “It’s complicated, man.”

“Then uncomplicate it.” Gus leaned against his desk and waited.

“Fine. We hooked up a couple of times, I told him I wanted more and he walked out. End of story.”

“That explains the arguing. Why are we helping Lassiter?”

Shawn honestly hated talking about his feelings. This was torture. “Carly told me last night that basically he wanted to love me again, but couldn’t.”

“Why can’t he?”

“He said it was because I left him, which I didn’t. Not really. I was just gone a few months, which I told him about ahead of time. But I think something happened while I was gone to make him feel like I really left.”

“So you want to do this case to get back into Lassiter’s good graces.”

Shawn shrugged. “He’s had a rough week, I just want to help him solve this case.”

Gus nodded.

“But if that doesn’t convince you to help me with this case, I guarantee you that after you hear this reason, you definitely will.”

”I doubt it but give it a shot.”

“The victim was an astronomer.”

“Yeah.”

“The guy died while he was working the night sky at the observatory.”

Gus chuckled nervously and headed over to his desk. “What would make you think that would matter?”

“Oh, come on! I know you go down to the Space Center.”

“That's preposterous, Shawn.”

“Thursdays.” Shawn stood and walked over to Gus.

“I'm never down-.”

“In the afternoon, usually around 2:00.”

“Have you been following me?”

“Maybe. Sometimes. To sharpen and refine my tailing skills, yes.”

“We both know your tailing skills are perfectly fine.” Gus rounded the desk and confronted Shawn. “This is exactly the sort of thing I was talking about, Shawn.”

“Okay, I apologize, Gus, I do. But it's all good. So you like astronomy. I accept that.” Though Shawn definitely suspected there was a girl involved, no way Gus liked astronomy that much.

“This conversation is over.” Gus started going through stuff on his desk.

“Okay, don't go all Vincent Gallo on me. We're just getting started, man. Look, some guy dies at a Space Center that you frequently sneak off to. We gotta get down there and we gotta do some serious space digging.”

“No, we don't. As a matter of fact, now that I know that you're tailing me while I'm at work, get ready to get lost in my dust.”

Shawn scoffed. “Okay. Dust? What, are you going off-roading?”

“I'm gonna be un-catchable, like a jackal.”

“Like a jackal? We both know you can’t lose me. How about I just tail you to the observatory?”

“Consider me stealth, Shawn.” Gus started bobbing his head.

“That's weird. It's like you're a bobble head.”

* * *

While Gus went off back to work, Shawn decided the best way to investigate discreetly was to head down to the observatory and work there. With his long list of work history, they hired him easily. He had already been trained on the basics of the job by the time he spotted Gus trying to sneak about outside. He turned his back as soon as Gus reached the door and waited.

“Excuse me, I have an annual pass and-.”

Shawn turned around. “Oh, I'm sorry, sir. Didn't see you standing there, you know, being so stealth-like.” He picked up the phone and called over the intercom. “The jackal has arrived.”

Gus didn’t seem to see the humor in the situation. They walked away from the front desk and headed into the observatory.

“What are you doing, Shawn?”

“What are we doing. Dude, we're undercover.”

“We are not undercover.”

“Sure, we are. I'm the employee, you're the customer.”

“Employee? You’ve never worked a job in your life Shawn, you’re not qualified for this job.”

“My background would beg to differ, thank you very much. I’ve worked tons of jobs, like in a wiener mobile, at a movie store, and a Starbucks.”

“Sure you have. I'm not involved with this case.”

“I only need you for a minute. Like when Kenickie needed Danny Zuko. And you get to be Travolta in the analogy.”

“Look, I'm only here for a few minutes, anyway.”

“That's all I need. Look, there's this creepy janitor that lurks about. I want you to distract him while I grill your crush.” Shawn had seen everyone who worked there, and she was definitely Gus’ type.

“You are not grilling Jessica. She's just interning here until she gets her college units.”

“I knew you were crushing on someone.”

“How did you-.”

“I’m not an idiot, we both know that. There was no way you were suddenly so interested in the stars after all these years that’d you come weekly. The only logical solution would be that a girl was involved.”

“You know, your observational skills really get annoying.”

“Thanks, Gus, that means a lot. New plan, you grill Jessica.”

“Look, she’s been through a lot lately. She just-.”

“Broke up with her boyfriend.”

“How'd you know that?”

“It's my curse, apparently.”

“Well, since she's just off a break-up, I got to move gradually.”

“Just go over there and ask her out. Get her digits.”

“Shawn, this is a quality girl. That means I got to put in quality time, okay?”

“Oh, here she comes. Act natural.” Shawn leaned against the wall, relaxed while Gus stood stiffly, definitely looking unnatural.

Shawn stopped the girl as she passed. “Hey, Jessie, do you know Gus?”

She smiled. “Yes. Gus is a regular.”

“That's right.”

Shawn decided to have a little fun. “You know, I went to high school with him. Of course, I didn't hang out with cool kids like Gus in high school. He was a C.I.F. wrestling champion back then.”

“Really?” She sounded impressed.

“True as toast. And in college, he was a Heisman candidate till he blew his knee out.” Gus shot him an unbelievable look. “Don't act all surprised. We were all following you in the newspapers, man.”

“You're kidding.”

“Well, he is, actually-,”

Shawn cut Gus off. “I don't kid, ever. I idolize this guy. The coolest dude I have ever known.” He watched as she took everything in, and knew she was sold. Perfect.

“Wow, Gus, it seems there's a lot I don't know about you.”

“Well, there is-.”

“Hey, you guys should totally talk, you know? Share stuff and whatnot. But don't let this guy grill you too much.” Shawn and Gus shared a fake laugh.

Jessica didn’t seem to notice. “Yeah, well, I'd love to, but I have to start the planetarium show.”

“Yes, she has a planetarium show to start.”

No problem, Shawn had seen a show once on a date, he could easily do that. “Oh, can I do that?”

“Have you been trained on the show?”

“Oh, yeah, Jess, I just did the checklist, like, an hour ago. Perfect score. Uh... question 18 has a typo.”

“Okay, great! Go ahead then.”

“Are you serious? Oh, this is great! Great. All right, I got it. No worries. No worries. I got it.” Shawn ran off to do the show, purposely running with pep in his step.

“Thanks, Shawn.”

Gus couldn’t believe what just happened. “That guy. You heard about Pluto? It's messed up, right?”

“Mhm.”

* * *

Shawn did the planetarium show in 4 minutes with no trouble, though the janitor guy was watching him like a hawk the whole time. When he was finished he headed out to the lobby to wait for Gus. While he was waiting he got a text from Juliet saying Lassie was back on board and was reinvestigating the case. Perfect.

The janitor finally left the show room and Shawn glanced around before stealthily following him. He watched as the guy stole a water bottle, flashlight and some deodorant from an employee’s locker. When the janitor left, Shawn slipped into the telescope room. He was surprised to find that it’s not empty.

“Hey.” Shawn startled as a guy spoke up. “You work here?”

Shawn headed into the room. “No, I just happen to own my own Space Suit.”

“A smart-ass. I like that. Get over here, kid. Do me a favor. Keep your finger on the space bar while I adjust this.”

Shawn walked over and did as he was asked. “Like this?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You're gonna trust me with this?”

“I don't have a lot of other options, do I, Space man?” The astronomer walked off to the telescope.

Shawn scanned the desk and noticed the corner of a piece of paper sticking out of one of the log books, almost like it was bent or ripped. “I gotta be honest. This seems like a job for two, no?”

“Sometimes it is. But once the scope is in place, all you got to do is watch the monitor, hoping to catch things that nobody else has. You know, if you got a partner, you can switch off, you know, rest your eyes, maybe make calculations on what you've seen, or just break up the silence of staring into the unknown.”

“So, where's your partner?”

“Yeah, well that's the bad part of it. He passed away not too long ago. You know, the Buddhists have this saying about moving on, honoring the work... but I don't remember it. What I do know is that I realize I'm too old to be doing this stuff all alone.” He walked back and took over, relieving Shawn of the space bar.

Shawn walked over to the telescope. “So, you're continuing the work, huh?” He considered looking in the telescope, but he knew how precise this had to be. He knew better than to touch it.

“Bryant would return from the grave if I didn't. You know, we petitioned for five years for use of this scope. And we got lucky. I mean, once you get in here, you gotta find what you're looking for, fast. We had eight months. Bryant saw six.”

“Eight months seems like a good chunk of time.”

“Not in astronomy. See, once you find it, you gotta track it. Okay? And then it's not a discovery until you chart it and then it goes around again and then you prove it.”

“Must get lonely.”

“I let you in here, didn't I? Look, I just talk. You know? I've got the gift of gab. Jeez, I'll talk to anybody, I suppose.” The astronomer sat down at the monitor.

“So, you still haven't found what you're looking for, huh?”

“No, but when I do, you'll read about it, believe me. You'll read about it.”

Shawn headed out of the room a few minutes later. He hadn’t found out anything useful. He’d have to go back in when the astronomer was gone, get a better look around. He headed back to the main lobby and decided it wouldn’t hurt to do his actual job. He headed to the main desk and checked people in while he waited for Gus.

His thoughts quickly wandered to Carly, as the work didn’t require much attention. He had so many mixed feelings about Carlton, and he didn’t know which ones were the strongest. He knew that the idea of getting back together with Lassie brought him joy and butterflies, but he knew thinking about the past that Lassiter leaving him for Victoria had hurt worse than a gunshot. He felt that he’d be able to move on if they just talked about it. But then there was the fact that Carlton somehow thought Shawn was the one who left that brought a new problem into the mix. What he was talking about, Shawn had no clue, but as soon as this case was over, he was going to find out.

Gus and Jessica returned 20 minutes later and Shawn walked Gus out to his car. Gus got Jessica’s digits and Shawn had heard from Juliet, they were to meet her after Shawn got off work. So at five o’clock, the two of them drove down to the station.

They were hoping for some good news but quickly found out that Jessica might have been the one having the potential affair with Bryant, the dead guy.

* * *

_2000_

_A taxi pulled up outside the house and Shawn gingerly climbed out. He grabbed his bag from the trunk before carefully heading up the steps to the front door. He knocked and waited. The door opened to reveal one of his favorite people._

_“Carly!”_

_Carlton smiled. “Do you ever think to call and let me know you’re coming?”_

_“Now where’s the fun in that?” Carlton stepped aside to let Shawn in. “Speaking of fun, you know what’s not fun? Getting shot.”_

_It took a second for Carlton to process what he just said. “Oh my god, Shawn, were you shot?” Carlton quickly noticed Shawn’s gentle steps and grabbed the man’s bag. He ushered Shawn to the couch._

_“It was just a deep graze to the side, but if anyone asks, I bravely took two to the gut and barely made it out alive.” He grinned up at Lassie, happy to be back with him. “I was given a few weeks to heal up, so I decided to come visit.”_

_“Please tell me you didn’t ride your bike down here with a bullet wound.” Carlton sat next to Shawn on the couch, wrapping his arm around the smaller man._

_“Nah, I flew. Even I have my limits.” Shawn leaned into Carlton’s side. It felt like he never left._

_They spent the next few weeks doing a bit of everything. Carlton still had to work, but they spent his free evenings catching up and watching reruns of Cops. On the weekends they went on dates to the beach, to dinner, and even to an arcade much to Shawn’s delight._

_Shawn made sure to visit Gus a few times while he was in town, but most of his time he spent with Lassie by his side. Days with Carly almost made him consider leaving the army, just so he’d have more time with the man. But he knew he couldn’t do it, not now at least. Maybe someday._

* * *

The next morning Shawn and Gus went back to the observatory, early enough that the astronomer wouldn’t be there yet. They bickered about whether or not Jessica was the killer. Gus was adamant that she likely was, while Shawn didn’t see a motive. There was no reason for her to do so, even if they’d recently broken up. It didn’t add up.

Shawn used his stolen security pass to get them into the back room, but it didn’t let them into the locked observatory room. He was about to pull out his multi-tool when the nosy janitor showed up.

“That's not right.”

“What? I'm sorry. I just…I...I left my pogo stick in there and I just...”

“No, I mean you're not doing it right. You gotta move upward if you wanna get the latch to disengage. Let me do it.” The janitor pulled out a knife and moved over to help them break in.

“Uh... don't you have a key for this room?”

“No. Big bad Bryant took it away a few weeks after they got here.”

“Why?”

“A few small items go missing and suddenly everyone gets suspicious.”

“Items such as?” Shawn was not surprised at all, the guy had a serious problem.

“A watch. A comb. Some mail.”

“Whose mail?”

“The dead guy, Bryant.”

“Did you read it?” Gus asked.

“Well, of course I did. You know, he became quite a jerk. I don't know if Hugo knows this or not, but he was dissolving the partnership. Apparently, he had some big plans for himself. I don't know. Correspondence for jobs he didn't seem qualified for. Like heading university departments, NASA...”

He was dissolving the partnership? Interesting, that gave Hugo motive. “NASA?”

The janitor got the lock to disengage and opened the door. “Now. Who are you guys again?”

“We think something bad went down in there,” Gus responded.

“Yes, something bad did go down in here.” The janitor opened the door for them, and they headed inside.

“Did you see anything?” Shawn asked.

“No. But you know, the dead guy, he changed. They were friends at the beginning. Hugo was always being nice to him, you know? In fact, Hugo's the only one around here who's nice to me. Brings me coffee in the mornings, although he brings it for everybody. All four of us. Three of us.”

Shawn headed over to the log books he saw yesterday. “Stallings, I'll be nice to you, just do me a favor. Stop stealing the gum out of my locker. Okay?”

The janitor, Stallings, chuckled nervously. “You spotted that?”

“Sure did.”

Gus looked around at the telescope, fascinated.

“Hey, do you know how these books work?” Shawn flipped through one of them.

“Oh, they switch up every couple of hours. One looks, one writes. Yeah, they do it from dark till dusk all the time.” Stallings glanced at his watch. “Hugo's here.”

“How do you know that?”

“He gets here at the same time every day. You could set your clock to it. Hey, you should hurry. You don't have long.”

“Thanks, dude.”

“Uh-huh.” Stallings glanced around before quickly leaving the room.

“Gus, come check this out.” Shawn opened the book where he saw the ripped page.

“What?”

“Look, there's a page missing from this logbook. I noticed it the first time I was here. Look. June 21st.”

“What does the book track?”

“It's like Stallings said. It's like, every manual adjustment they make, who does it, which guy was on the scope. See, it looks like they switch shifts about every two hours. Right? So, why remove this page? It goes from 8:39 with Hugo to 10:42 with Bryant. So the question is, what happened between 8:39 and 10:42 on June 21st?”

“Some bad juju.”

Shawn closed the book and put it back. “We gotta get out of here.”

“Why?”

“Why? Gus, if someone finds me in here, I could get fired.” He jogged off.

“Why do you keep running like that?”

* * *

As they were heading outside, they ran into Jessica. Gus tried to slyly slip out of their date obligations, but Jessica and Shawn would not have it, much to Gus’ chagrin. The three of them head outside to greet Hugo.

Shawn and Gus noticed that Hugo kept a bunch of paperwork locked up in a hard covered brief case; odd for mere paperwork. Hugo headed inside and Shawn had an idea. If Hugo was at the observatory, that meant he wasn’t at his house.

The two of them drove to the man’s house and had a look around. Shawn tried a window but it was locked. He could have easily broken in, but didn’t find it necessary. They headed around back and Shawn noticed strange purple flowers growing in a vegetable garden. He pulled out his multi-tool and snipped a could of stems. His dad would definitely know what it was. He needed to know what this was before Lassiter decided to come on his own.

They then headed to Henry’s house, hoping he’d be able to identify the flowers for them. Shawn was shocked to find out his dad had a woman over. He knew his dad had dated since his mom, he wasn’t stupid, but he honestly rather not think about it at all. He left the stems of flower on the porch and they left rather quickly.

Shawn called Jules on the drive and updated her on what they found, informing her about the missing page in the logbook. He was thrilled to hear that Lassie was “on fire” with the case. His plan was working.

* * *

Shawn followed Gus on his date with Jessica. He knew she likely wasn’t the killer, but just in case, he wanted to make sure his best friend was safe. He listened in on their conversations, tucked under a blanket on a nearby bench. He heard that Hugo called a press conference and may have discovered a planet. If that was true, it gave Hugo motive to kill Bryant if he wanted all the credit. Especially if he found out Bryant was going to dissolve the partnership, likely taking the credit with him, then Hugo definitely had motive to kill.

Shawn considered jumping out of his hiding spot, informing them Jessica wasn’t a suspect anymore, but for once Shawn thought before he acted. That’d likely ruin the rest of the date for Gus, and wouldn’t be fair for Shawn to do. He waited until they walked on, before slipping out of his hiding spot and heading back to his bike. He called Jules and updated her on what he found out before heading home. Now all he needed was a murder weapon.

* * *

_2000_

_Shawn and Carlton walked down the beach, hand in hand. Carlton wasn’t a huge fan of public displays of affection, but with Shawn, he didn’t mind. They walked, watched the sunset, and talked about their days; Carlton had worked, and Shawn had gone to visit Gus._

_After awhile they walked in silence, enjoying each other’s company, when Shawn broke it._

_“Where do you see yourself in the future?” Shawn wasn’t sure what kind of answer he was expecting, but the question popped into his head and was spoken seconds later._

_Carlton thought about it for a minute. “I see myself as the Chief of the SBPD, maybe married with a kid or two.” He doesn’t mention that lately he pictured Shawn as his future husband. That was likely too much for their relationship right now._

_Shawn nodded and contemplated his own answer. “I see myself as a Master Sergeant in the army, with Don’t Ask Don’t Tell repealed and my boyfriend by my side for the world to see.” He squeezed Carlton’s hand. He immediately regretted saying boyfriend, as they never labeled what they were, but when Carlton squeezed back, he knew there was no reason to worry._

_It seemed they were both picturing similar futures. Together._

* * *

The next morning, Shawn and Gus headed up to the observatory to listen to the press conference. While they were listening, Shawn got a call from his father complaining about the foxglove he left on his porch. Gus then explained to him that for people without heart conditions, that could be fatal. It all quickly fell into place. Hugo brought coffee for everyone in the morning, that’d be the perfect time to slip a little foxglove into Bryant’s drink, and it would never show up on a regular autopsy report. His thoughts were interrupted by Carly and Jules walking over.

* * *

Carlton knew as soon as he saw Spencer and Guster, that they’d been helping O’Hara with the case. Yes, he knew O’Hara was helping him, he wasn’t an idiot. He knew she’d given him hints, like the affair, June 21st, and now the motive. He was actually grateful for the help, though he’d likely never admit to it. He was surprised, however, to see Spencer and Guster helping out. Especially with how much arguing had been happening between Spencer and himself. What had him wanting to help him all of a sudden? …Did he say something at the bar a few nights ago?

Spencer interrupted his thoughts. “Hey, what are you doing here?”

“We just got our motive for murder, Spencer.” Which he likely already knew. “Hugo found out that Vallery was going to take all the credit for their discovery himself. Cut him out of it entirely.”

“Because he was on the scope when they made the find?”

“Yes. Maybe.” If they were all going to help him out, he guessed he could play along with their antics. “What are you doing here?”

“Well, we heard you had the motive, so we rushed down here to volunteer our services.”

“Thanks, but I'll take this one myself.”

“Okay, well at least tell me about the poison.”

He had been considering poison. What did Shawn know that he didn’t? “What poison? I didn't say anything about poison.”

“You most certainly did.”

“I heard it,” Jules piped in.

“Clear as day,” Guster added.

They really thought he wouldn’t notice what they’re doing? Maybe he should feel insulted. “Must have slipped out. I have been thinking about poison as a method, but I can't figure out how.”

“Would you like me to read your innermost thoughts? Like deep, deep, deep ones.”

The last thing Carlton wanted on such a good day was Spencer’s bullshit psychic crap, but if it got the case solved, why not. He’d at least know what Spencer knows and isn’t telling him outright. “Knock yourself out.”

“Okay, I just want you to relax.” Spencer grabbed his wrists and held them; Carlton had to stop himself from pulling away. “Breathe normally. Close your eyes.” Carlton did as asked, though he did suspiciously glance at Spencer before closing his eyes. “Can you feel it? Can... can...” Spencer squished Carlton’s face with his hands. Carlton was not pleased. “You want to check the house, Hugo's house.”

Carlton’s response was muffled. “I am in the process of getting a warrant.”

Spencer turned to O’Hara. “What did he say?”

“He's in the process of getting a warrant now.”

Spencer looked back at Carlton. “The garden, check the garden.”

So Spencer had already been to the house. Without a warrant, great. “It's buried there?”

“Something's growing. Oh, I'm getting something. I'm getting... I'm getting... oh, oh, oh... Prince! No. The artist formerly known as prince. Oh! Shawn! Wrong again. It's prince after he was known as "the artist formerly known as prince."

Seriously? He couldn’t just come out and say there was a purple plant growing there. “It's purple.”

“Yes! Yes! That's it! You're amazing. Oh, the caverns of knowledge in that thing.”

Carlton barely held back an eyeroll. He was a little shocked by how easy it was to get Spencer to spew his thoughts. “Here's the problem. We ran the toxicology report. There's no trace of poisoning.”

“Of course. Thank you, detective. So what you're saying is, he would've had to administer it very, very slowly.”

“Sure. That's exactly what I'm saying. How do you poison someone slowly?”

“Coffee.”

“No, I'm good.”

“Tea!” Guster interjected.

“Well, if you're going.” Why were they bringing up beverages? Oh! He could have poisoned Bryant Vallery’s tea!

“It had to be the tea. The leaves wouldn't stand out in the tea.”

“Hugo poisoned his tea.”

“Every day for six months,” Spencer added.

“Digitalis would cause arrhythmia in a healthy heart.”

“Which would disappear as soon as someone died.” It was the perfect murder weapon. He needed to run a new toxicology report.

“Solved it!” Guster got very excited.

“No, you didn't,” Shawn said.

“Yes, I did. Yes, I did.” Guster continued to jump around in excitement.

“No, you didn't,” O’Hara pointed out.

“Oh, that's right. You did.” He motioned to Carlton.

He really didn’t. But a little help never hurt if it meant a killer was behind bars, he supposed. “O'Hara, call the coroner. Tell him to check for even the slightest traces of digitalis. And get me a new pair of handcuffs.” Carlton walked up to the stage where Hugo was giving his press conference. He whispered in his ear that he was under arrest and led the man from the room.

Now Carlton just had to figure out why they were so adamant on giving him the credit, and he had a gut feeling Spencer was behind it.

* * *

Shawn and Gus headed to the station following the arrest, after Shawn quit his job of course. The two of them watched as Carly got congratulations on his arrest. Shawn decided he liked seeing that smile on the detective’s face. He’d do anything to keep it there.

“Spencer, a moment of your precious time.” Carly grabbed his arm and dragged him into the Chief’s office.

“Are you sure we should be in here?”

“That night in the bar, I mentioned my wife, didn't I?”

Shawn considered lying for a moment. “Yes.”

“Crap. What did I say, exactly?”

“That you’ve been separated for two years.”

Carly nodded. “What else did I tell you that night?” He seemed suspicious.

Shawn thought about all that Carly told him. “Nothing, just that.”

Carly didn’t look like he believed him. “What made you want to help me on this case?”

“What are you talking about? You solved this case all on your own.”

“Then you all must think I’m as dumb as a bag of rocks. I know O’Hara was helping me, and I have a pretty good idea that you and Guster were helping her. So why?”

Shawn was surprised Carly caught on, but he also knew how intelligent the detective was. He should have expected him to catch on. “…I wanted to put an end to our differences. I’m sick of the fighting between us.”

Carly seemed to consider the answer for a minute. “You lie to this department every day. Until that stops, I don’t know if I can move past it.”

That answer almost stopped Shawn’s heart. He hated lying to Lassie, but he didn’t know how to tell him the truth. Did he even really deserve the truth? After all they’ve been through?

O’Hara walked in. “The press is asking for you outside.”

“Tell them I will be right there.”

Carly broke through Shawn’s thoughts. “But if you maybe cool down the antics…I can consider keeping my comments to myself.” He fixed his tie. “How’s the knot?”

“Tight.”

“Great.” Carly left the office and headed outside to speak to the press.

That wasn’t at all the conversation Shawn had expected.

* * *

Friday night, Shawn headed down to Tom Blair’s Pub, and was shocked to see his dad there after all. They had a couple drink before going their separate ways. With a few drinks in his system, Shawn decided he needed to get to the bottom of why Lassie held a grudge about their relationship. He headed to the Psych office to do some research.

Now something had happened to make Lassie think he’d been abandoned. Something that had led him to Victoria, since he’d said she’d been there for him. What would cause Lassie to reach out when he knew Shawn wouldn’t answer? He remembered coming back from tour with 50 plus missed calls from Lassie, but no messages. He’d only reached out one other time while he knew Shawn was gone, and that had been when an officer got injured on his watch. It had really shook him up. Maybe something similar had happened?

Shawn started to research all police happenings in Santa Barbara during the six months he’d been gone. He had articles pulled up on his laptop and tablet and quickly skimmed through them. It took him two hours and a can of Red Bull to find something.

“Cop Killed in House Raid” was the title of the article, and it seemed to have happened about a month into his tour. Shawn skimmed the article and found Carly’s name in it. “Head Detective Carlton Lassiter was unavailable for comments.” He assumed Carly had been involved in the incident. If someone had been killed on his watch, he knew Carly would have been devastated. Shawn hadn’t been there to answer the phone, to talk to him…no wonder he felt abandoned, at least in his distressed mind. It made total sense.

Carly had mentioned that Victoria had been there for him. He must have met her while he was dealing with all of that. Maybe Carly left Shawn, not because he didn’t want him, but because in his time of grief there was someone else who was around. At the time he needed someone, and Shawn couldn’t provide.

It still hurt to be left like he was, but at least Shawn now understood a little about why he was left. Now he just needed to talk to Lassie about it.

* * *

_2001_

_“Carly’s the one, Coop, I can feel it.” Shawn and Coop sat in their tent, resting while they waited for it to get dark. The team was scattered around, doing different things, and Shawn was reminiscing about home. They were four months into their short tour and would get to go home in two months if everything worked out._

_“You’re thinking the One like marriage, kids, the whole nine yards?”_

_“Yeah, one day, I think that’d be perfect with Lassie.”_

_“We talking about Spencer’s special someone again?” Andrew “Reads” Harris entered the tent followed by the rest of the team._

_“If they’re so special, when are we going to get to meet ‘em?” Cards took a seat on Shawn’s other side. “It’s not serious until they meet the team.”_

_The other men made sounds of agreement._

_Shawn smiled. “Well if it’s so important, I’ll bring Carly by when we get home. I’m sure I could get ‘em to take off work for a bit.” He was thrilled his team was interested in meeting his boyfriend, even though they never really labeled their relationship._

_Their conversations shifted to other topics. Shawn leaned back and looked around at his team, his family. He was proud to be a member of this team, and their acceptance of him and Carly warmed his heart. Now they just needed to meet him, and everything would be perfect._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another chapter for y'all! Don't get used to the quick updates ;) i can't promise they'll stay like that. Let me know what you think of the chapter, I love hearing from you guys. Not quite sure what's coming next, I'll probably skip through a few episodes again, maybe get to the season finale. It'll be a surprise for us both :)


	7. Interlude 2

Shawn headed into the station Monday morning with Gus, fully intending to speak with Lassie, or at least talk about a time where they could meet and talk privately. When he got to the station, Carly was nowhere to be found, so Shawn got pulled into showing off his skills to a bunch of the officers. He did this for awhile until Lassie finally showed up, with a case no less.

Shawn happily took the case, hoping it was Lassie showing faith in him, not a joke like Gus assumed it was. So he was disappointed when they walked into the interrogation room to see that it likely was a joke case. Shawn quickly decided that he’d take the case seriously and prove to Lassie that he can solve even the oddest of cases. He wanted Lassie to have faith in him. He was also going to use this case as a test, to see if Lassie really would keep his comments to himself if Shawn kept his antics to a minimum.

Shawn and Gus discussed the case at the office, and quickly discovered the guy was describing a location, one that Shawn knew where was. They headed to the location and were shocked to find the cops already there. Turns out there had been a second victim. Shawn was stuck interviewing a second naked guy in two days, and he was not thrilled. He didn’t agree, however, with Carly’s theory of a copycat. Like Gus had said, who would copy something that embarrassing.

Shawn and Gus then checked out a tanning studio, Shawn being convinced that tanning is what connected the two victims. But when they discovered the third victim, it seemed unlikely, since the dead guy was as pale as a ghost. But that’s when Shawn noticed a marking on the victim’s wrist, something all three had. When he put his memories together, the marking made up a four-leaf clover. This led him to a speed dating event.

Shawn convinced the Chief to have him and Gus go check out the speed dating event, and Lassie and Jules got dragged into it as well. The four of them attended the event and Shawn kept finding himself distracted by watching Lassie. He hated seeing the guy on dates and being flirted with. From what he saw, Carly wasn’t actually half bad at this and seemed to be putting up a similar persona as the one he had when Shawn first met him. It honestly put Shawn on edge, and he was definitely jealous. He ended up not really paying attention to the conversations he had with the various women he met.

One conversation he did pay attention to was when he was paired up with Jules. He expected their usual banter and fake flirting but was shocked when Jules had other plans.

“Tell me about you and Carlton.”

“What about me and Carly?” Shawn tried to get a read on Jules, but he had no idea where this conversation was going.

“He told me how you two used to be friends years ago.”

Shawn quickly caught on to the lie. “Oh, that. Yeah, we were.”

“What happened between you two?”

“Life got in the way; we fell apart. It happens.”

“That’s not what Carlton said.”

“Well that’s what happened. Why are you asking me about him?” Shawn felt almost defensive. She was leading to something and he wasn’t sure he wanted to talk about whatever it was.

“Were you two close?”

“…you could say that, yeah.”

“Why doesn’t Carlton believe you’re psychic?”

“You’d have to ask him that, Jules. I’m not a mind reader.”

“He said you weren’t psychic back then. But I thought you claimed to have the gift your whole life.”

What kind of answer did she want from him? Was she starting to doubt him too? “I have had the gift my whole life. I just never told Lassie about it because it wasn’t important at the time. We fell apart before I could ever tell him.”

“Are you sure you’ve had your gift your whole life?”

Shawn was taken aback by the question. “Of course I’m sure, Jules. What kind of question is that?”

They were saved by the bell. Shawn got up quickly and walked off. What had Jules been hoping to find out? That he wasn’t always psychic? What would she do with that information?

Shawn pushed thoughts about the conversation away and started to focus on the case. He had a killer to find.

* * *

Shawn convinced Gus to go on a date with a potential killer, probably not one of his best ideas, but it needed to be done. They ran into Jules on the date, but Shawn didn’t interact with her, still on edge around her since their conversation, and since finding out that they were a perfect match on the questionnaire. He hoped that since she was on a date, that she didn’t put much stock into those questionnaires. The last thing he needed was for the wrong detective to fall for him.

He was relieved to see Gus’ date wasn’t the killer, but that meant one was still out there. He got called into the station when they brought in one of the restaurant servers, Marvin, who had been caught with stealing the questionnaires. He knew the guy was lying, but he also knew that the guy couldn’t have been working alone. He’d found evidence of a woman at the crime scenes, if Marvin was involved, he had a partner.

They let Marvin go and went to the speed dating event for the second night in a row. He noticed one of the women glaring at Marvin whenever he seemed to flirt with a girl. Bingo. He sat down across from the girl next to the woman. While the girl talked he observed the two and noticed that they both had wedding ring tan lines. Married huh? He also remembered the boring questions the woman had asked him the night before. Questions that would be asked by a bank for security reasons. Perfect. He had everything he needed.

He stood up and ratted the two of them out. He happily watched as Lassie arrested the two of them. The speed dating event ended, and he turned back to the girl he sat across from. Before the two of them could start a conversation, Jules showed up and asked to sit down. The girl left and Jules sat.

“Here to question my abilities again?”

“No, Shawn. I wanted to apologize. I shouldn’t have questioned you like that. I’m sorry. I just found it hard to believe that you could be friends with Carlton and him not know you were psychic. Your visions are kind of hard to miss.”

“Let’s just say, sometimes I put on more of a show than I have to.” He smiled.

She smiled back. “I also wanted to talk to you about our questionnaires.”

“Oh those, don’t worry about it. I totally copied your answers over your shoulder, we aren’t really perfect matches.”

“Okay, well good, I don’t put much faith in those things anyway. I didn’t want things to get awkward between us, since we’ll likely be working together a lot.”

“Nothing’s awkward, promise.”

She nodded. “Good.” She stood and left.

Well that was a burden off his shoulders. He didn’t want Jules to get a crush on him, he just didn’t see her like that. Maybe if Carly wasn’t in the picture he’d consider it, but not when he wanted Carly to love him again.

* * *

Following the speed dating case, Shawn found it hard to get Carly alone to have a conversation. Whenever he tried, the detective blew him off saying he was busy. It got to the point where Shawn couldn’t take it anymore and was willing to scream about their relationship in front of the whole station just to get the man’s attention. He didn’t, but he was tempted.

To make his week even worse, his motorcycle got impounded. He forgot to pay his tickets, and may have parked near a fire hydrant, but that gave them no right to take away his mode of transportation. Luckily he got a case out of the whole courthouse ordeal, the bad news was that it took up most of his time so he didn’t have time for a sit down with Lassie.

It ended up being an interesting case about a woman supposedly stabbing a weatherman. They found the real killer and revealed it in court. The whole court situation was actually rather fun, both Shawn and Gus enjoyed themselves.

On Saturday, following the case, they all headed over to the police station for the auction, hoping to win Shawn’s bike back for him, only to find out it was removed from the auction. Shawn was shocked until he saw Lassie leave the auction. No way, he didn’t. Shawn sent Gus back to the car and followed Carlton.

“Lassie!”

“I said go home, Spencer.”

Shawn waited until he caught up to Carlton before he said more. “Did you get my bike removed from the auction?”

“Of course not, Spencer, don’t be ridiculous.”

“You did, didn’t you?”

Carlton sighed and stopped at his desk. “What do you want, Spencer?”

“I want to talk.”

Carlton started looking through the files on his desk. “This is talking.”

Seriously? “We need to sit down and have a talk, Carly.”

“About what?”

“About us.”

Carlton tensed and looked up at Shawn. “There is no us to talk about.”

“We need to talk about what happened between us six years ago.”

“And what makes you think I’d be willing to talk about that?”

Shawn glanced around before lowering his voice. “Because you still care about me. I know you do. And if you want to claim you don’t then fine, but then at least let’s talk so we can get some closure.”

Carlton thought about it for a minute.

“We can grab dinner next week, just us, and talk things out…Please, Carlton.”

Carlton still looked reluctant. “Fine. Wednesday. If I’m not busy with a case.”

Shawn smiled. “Perfect. Wednesday it is.” He turned and headed out of the station.

* * *

_2001_

_Carlton sat at his kitchen table and stared at the ring in his hand. It was a simple, yet elegant diamond ring. He had bought it last night when he got the urge to propose to Victoria. He loved her, he knew he did, but something was holding him back from asking the question._

_He pulled out his phone and dialed his first speed dial. It rang and rang before going to voicemail. He hung up without leaving a message and pocketed his phone. He stared at the ring again._

_Over the next couple days, he repeated the process, calling the number several times and hoping someone would pick up. No one ever did. If they’d just pick up, he’d know what to do with the ring._

_A week after he bought the ring, Carlton was dressed up in his best suit. He was taking Victoria out to her favorite restaurant and was planning to propose during dessert. Before he left the house, he called the number one more time._

_“This is Shawn Spencer. You’ve reached my voicemail. Leave a message and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can.”_

_Carlton hung up. If Shawn would just answer, he knew he’d go back to the man in a heartbeat. He loved Victoria, he did, but he knew it was nothing compared to what he felt for Shawn._

_Carlton looked in the mirror and fixed his tie. He pocketed the ring and left the house._

* * *

Shawn was nervous to say the least. It was Wednesday morning and he had spent the past few days not thinking about Lassie. But now it was the day they were meant to talk, and he didn’t know how it was going to go, at all. It was times like this that he wished he really was psychic and could see the future. He really wanted this talk to go well. He needed this talk to go well.

Shawn missed dating Lassie. He knew he shouldn’t, the man abandoned him after all, but he couldn’t help it. Carly was handsome, intelligent, an amazing person. It was hard not to fall for the man. Problem was, even if the talk went well tonight, there was still a chance that Lassie wouldn’t want to get back together, and that made Shawn sick to his stomach. He felt so nervous that he didn’t eat all day, worrying Gus who happened to have the day off.

Shawn had told Gus about the talk, so his best friend knew about his worries. Gus spent the day trying to distract Shawn the best he could. First with food, and when that didn’t work, they sat down and binge watched _American Duos_ all day. Gus could tell it still didn’t work well at distracting Shawn, but it did help a little bit.

By six o’clock, Shawn had never felt so nervous in his life, even when he was waiting to hear if he made it into the Special Forces he wasn’t this nervous. He checked his phone every few minutes, waiting for Lassie to give him a call. He didn’t pay attention to the TV at all.

“When did he say he’d call?”

Shawn glanced at his best friend. “Well his shift was to end at 6, so anytime now.”

Gus nodded. “It’s going to be okay, no matter what happens tonight.”

“What are you the psychic now? There’s no way you could know that, Gus.”

“Whatever happens, you’ll get through it. You got through it before, and you’ll get through it again.”

Shawn nodded and checked his phone again. Nothing. He jumped when his phone rang a few minutes later. He answered it.

“Lassie!”

“Spencer, I got to work late tonight. We’ll have to reschedule.”

Shawn’s heart stopped. He didn’t want to have to go through this nervousness again. “Are you working alone? Is Jules there with you?”

“No, she went home. What does-.”

“I’ll be there in 20 with takeout. Chinese okay?”

“Spencer-.”

“Perfect.” Shawn hung up. “Looks like I’m going to him.” He stood up and grabbed his jacket.

“Good luck.” Gus turned off the TV.

“Thanks, buddy.” Shawn headed out of the office. He went and picked up Carlton’s favorite Chinese takeout before he headed to the station. It was deserted except for the few night shift officers. He spotted Carly working at his desk, completely alone.

Shawn walked over and set the bag of food on an empty corner of the desk. “Hey, Lassie-face. I got you food from the Chinese place down the road that you love. Cashew chicken, right?”

Carlton seemed shocked that Shawn remembered. “Yeah, thanks. Look, Spencer, this isn’t the best place to have this conversation.”

“I know, but no one’s here and we really need to talk.” Shawn pulled cartons from the bag and handed Carlton his food. “I figured we could get this talk out of the way and then maybe I could help you with the case you’re working on. It’s a win-win.”

“I don’t need your help.”

“I know you don’t _need_ it, but a little help never hurt anyone.” Shawn pulled over a chair and sat down. The two of them dug into their food. Neither knew where to start.

After a few minutes, Shawn finally spoke up, voice quiet. “I didn’t leave you Carlton.”

Carlton tensed up and looked ready to argue.

“I know what happened. The officer that was killed on your watch…and I’m sorry I wasn’t able to be there for you when you needed me. But I told you I’d be gone for 6 months, and I told you I’d be unavailable. So to accuse me of leaving you isn’t fair. You are the one who went and found someone new…”

Carlton didn’t say anything.

“I’m glad you found someone to help you through your tough time…but I thought we had something, we even mentioned futures together…You left me.”

Carlton didn’t say anything for awhile, just poked at his food. He didn’t look up at Shawn when he spoke. “You never came back. After 6 months you didn’t come back. How is that not leaving?”

“I did come back. As soon as we got back I hopped on my bike and came to see you. I needed you…and Victoria answered the phone. What was I supposed to do? Reenter your life when you’d already moved on?”

Carlton finally looked up at Shawn. “I would have left her in a heartbeat if I saw you again.”

Shawn couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Then why had Carlton gotten engaged in the first place if he wanted Shawn?

“I called you every day for a week before I proposed, hoping you’d answer and give me a reason to call things off with Victoria…but you didn’t answer. I took it as a sign to move on, to stop waiting for someone I didn’t even know was coming back.”

“That’s not fair. I told you I’d be back.”

“For all I knew, you could have been dead.”

“…someone did die, it just wasn’t me.” Shawn looked away.

“What?”

“Coop died, Lassie, and you weren’t there when I needed you.”

Carlton remembered all the stories Shawn told about his team. He remembered Coop. “…Shawn, I’m so sorry.”

“…It’s a little late, but thanks.”

They sat in silence awhile, neither knowing what to say now. Their misunderstanding was resolved, but now what? Could they return to being a couple? Or were they doomed to be apart?

Shawn was the one to break the silence again. “So now what?”

Carlton sighed. “We can’t go back to what we had.”

That was not what Shawn wanted to hear. “Why not?”

“Because it’s been six years, Shawn, we’ve both changed. We’ve moved on.”

“Have we? Because I know you still have feelings for me, and I still have feelings for you. That doesn’t sound like moved on to me.”

Carlton doesn’t deny his feelings for Shawn. “We’re coworkers now, things are different.”

“There are no rules saying you can’t date a consultant. I checked.”

“Maybe not, but I can’t date you, Shawn. I can’t trust you.”

Shawn almost stopped breathing. “Yes, you can.”

“I can’t because I know you’re not psychic. Which means you’re lying, daily. How am I supposed to trust a word out of your mouth if you won’t even tell me the truth?”

“I have a gift. That’s the truth.”

“I need the whole truth, Spencer.”

The use of his last name again hurt. He gathered his trash and stood. “I told you the whole truth, the day you tried to have me arrested. It’s not my fault you didn’t believe me, Lassiter.” He threw away his trash. “I’ve never lied to you, Carlton. So don’t give me some bullshit on how you can’t trust me. If anyone can’t be trusted, it’s you. You’re the one who left.” Shawn turned and headed out of the station. When he reached his bike he could finally breathe, though he felt like he’d been punched in the gut. That was not how he wanted the conversation to end.

* * *

Carlton stared after Shawn. That was not how he expected that conversation to go. The way Shawn described it, it sounded like Carlton was the one to abandon Shawn. Was that really how he saw it? Was it true? Was Carlton really the bad person in this scenario?

He pushed those thoughts away, not able to think about it right now. Instead he focused on what else Shawn said. Shawn claimed to have told the whole truth that day he claimed to be psychic. What exactly had he said? Carlton got up and headed to the file room. When he got there, he searched for the case file for the store robberies. Inside the file should be transcripts of the tip line call Shawn made, as well as a transcript of the interrogation.

He flipped through it until he found the transcripts. First, he looked over the tip line call.

_“Police tip line, what can I do for you?”_

_“Hello..uh it’s the store manager…he did it._ ”

_“The store manager?”_

_“The stereo robberies…he’s on channel 8 news right now”_

_“And what proof do you have for this?”_

_“His hands are a nervous tic. And he won’t look the reporter in the eyes”_

_“And what’s your name, sir?”_

_“My name? My name is Shawn Spencer.”_

So Shawn watched the interview on TV and spotted a nervous tic and the interviewee wouldn’t meet the reporter’s eyes. So Shawn spotted guilt by merely watching an interview? Was it a lucky guess? No, Shawn wouldn’t call in if he wasn’t sure. He pulled out the transcript from the interrogation. He skimmed it.

_Detective Lassiter: “Pardon me if I’m just a little skeptical. Believable as it is that you solved all these crimes- I’m sorry, what was it? Watching the local Channel 8 news reports.”_

_Spencer: “I confess. That’s not true. Sometimes I watch Channel 5. I prefer Channel 8. The weather girl? Adorable.”_

_Detective Barry: “So you’re telling us that you can read guilt off of TV interviews?”_

_Spencer: “Can’t you?”_

So Shawn admitted to reading guilt off a mere interview. He knew Shawn was intelligent, but this would require fantastic observational skills. Was that it? Was Shawn just extremely observant?

He searched the file room again for Shawn’s file. He skimmed it and looked at the various tips he’d called in in the past. All were very similar and required a keen sense of observation, something a civilian wouldn’t have, but maybe he developed it during his time in the army? So Shawn was highly observant and combine that with his intelligence, did he just pull details together and make assumptions? Carlton needed more data.

He put away the files and decided to call it a night. He headed back to his desk and grabbed his coat. He put his work away in his desk and headed out of the station.

* * *

Carlton was handed a case the following weekend and Shawn somehow worked his way onto it. When he could, Carlton observed what Shawn did at the crime scene. He glanced over O’Hara’s shoulder while she was talking and watched as Shawn squinted at a few photos before turning around. He then moved his fingers to his temple and claimed to have a vision. The murder weapon was a missing trophy. O’Hara noticed the dust line marking where a trophy could have been.

When Shawn and Gus left the crime scene, Carlton walked over to where Shawn stood and looked over the photos. When he really looked, he noticed a trophy in each photo, exactly where the missing one would have been. Carlton then turned around and noticed the missing trophy spot, just like Shawn did. So Shawn had noticed the photos and drew the assumption that it was the murder weapon because it fit the profile of the object that was used. It was extremely good detective work and required heightened observational skills. Carlton likely would have taken longer to come to the assumption of the missing trophy if he would have at all.

Shawn had heightened observational skills and intelligence. Is that really all he used when it came to his visions?

* * *

Shawn didn’t like his ex going fishing with his dad. Even if his dad had no idea about their past relationship, it was still extremely weird. He had to watch as his dad talked fishing with Carlton, gave him a hat, and even saw them have lunch together. What could they possibly have to talk about? Him? Police work? Him?

To say he was thrilled when Carlton cancelled on his dad, even with a lie, was an understatement.

“I think I understand your past a little better, Spencer.”

Shawn watched as Carlton walked away. He had no idea how to take that. Was that some sort of compliment? Maybe an olive branch between the two of them? Shawn wasn’t sure.

* * *

_1999_

_Shawn and Carlton walked hand in hand through the holiday fair. Down by the docks there were craft and gift booths set up for holiday shoppers. Shawn and Carlton decided to walk around and see if they could get their last-minute shopping done._

_They were walking along when Shawn saw the perfect joke gift for Gus, a Die Hard snow globe. He started to pull Carlton towards the snow globe booth, when Carlton pulled them to a sharp stop. He glanced back and noticed Lassie’s face had gone white._

_“Carly, what’s wrong?”_

_“Nothing…Let’s just not go to that booth.”_

_“Why? There’s the perfect gift for Gus, it’ll just take a sec.”_

_Carlton nodded and let go of Shawn’s hand. “Okay, I’ll go grab us some apple cider. Meet you at the benches?” He pointed at some nearby benches._

_Shawn nodded and watched Carlton walk off. That was weird. Something about the booth had put Carly on edge. Shawn walked over to get his snow globe and looked around, trying to figure out what had bothered Carly; all he saw was the owner and a bunch of snow globes. If it had been something with the owner, Carly would have told him what was wrong, so it had to have something to do with the snow globes._

_Shawn bought his snow globe and headed over to the benches where Carly was waiting for him. He accepted his apple cider and took a seat next to his Carly. They sat in silence for a bit before Shawn had to ask. “So, you don’t like snow globes?”_

_Carlton seemed to tense up a bit. “You could say that.”_

_Shawn nodded and waited. Carly would tell him more if he wanted to._

_Carlton took a few minutes to continue. “…Since I was little, I’d get this dream that I’d be trapped in a snow globe and the snow would burn my skin…”_

_“I can understand why you wouldn’t like them.”_

_“It’s dumb, I know-.”_

_“Babe, it’s not dumb. Everyone has their own quirky fears. It’s okay.” He leaned up and kissed Carly’s cheek. He kept it brief since Carlton wasn’t a huge fan of public displays of affection. “It’s just one more thing that’s endearing about you.”_

_Carlton smiled and wrapped his arm around Shawn._

* * *

Juliet was at a loss with what to do. Carlton’s birthday was coming up and she had no idea what to get him or how to celebrate it. The Chief already told her not to do any surprises for him, calling his mom had only led to trouble, and searching his desk came up with very little except a list of names of people to invite. Though she was shocked to find out Carlton was allergic to mint, since he hardly ever shared anything with her. She had officially run out of ideas on what to do, so she reached out to the one person she knew that would be able to help – Shawn.

Juliet texted Shawn and asked if they could meet for coffee. He quickly agreed. That was how she ended up sitting at a coffee shop near Psych, waiting for Shawn to show up. He showed up right on time.

“Hey, Jules.” Shawn sat down across from her.

“Hey, Shawn, thanks for meeting me.”

“Of course, anything for you.” He smiled at her. “So what did you need?”

“It’s about Carlton.”

His smile disappeared. “Look, my past with Carly is, I gotta say, none of your business. If you’re here to interrogate me again, I’m leaving.” He moved to stand up.

Juliet stopped him with a hand on his arm. “It’s not about your past with Carlton. It’s about his birthday.”

Shawn sat back down. “What about it?”

“Well, it’s coming up in a few days and I wanted to surprise him, throw him a party, get him a gift.”

“But you have no idea where to start.”

“Exactly. You probably know Carlton better than most, I was hoping you could help me out.”

Shawn nodded. “Okay, what do you got so far?”

Juliet was filled with relief that Shawn was willing to help. “Well, the Chief said he hates surprises, but if I tell him about a party he won’t likely show up.”

“Nah, he doesn’t mind surprises as long as they’re the right kind. You’re right though, the party has to be a surprise.”

“That’s what I thought. I found a list of names in his desk I thought we could invite, so that there’d be people outside the department there.”

“Hold up, what kind of list of names?”

“Um, well he had this little black address book in his desk, I assumed-.”

“Do not invite people off that list. Carly keeps a little black book of people he’s arrested over the years. That’s likely what you found.”

“Why does he-?”

“He likes to keep an eye on them.”

Juliet still thought it was strange, but nodded. “Okay, so there goes the guest list.”

“Just invite people you work with all the time. If he likes them enough to keep working with them, then he’ll enjoy their company at his party.”

Juliet nodded and started to jot a few names down that came to mind. “What about gifts? All I could find out was that he’s allergic to mint. I have no idea what he likes.” Juliet almost felt ashamed that she knew nothing about her partner.

“Well he’s a major Civil War history buff, so any gift that has to do with that will be good. He’s also a fan of the TV show Cops, and he’s missing seasons 10 and 14 through 18.” Shawn gave it some more thought. “He’s a big fan of scotch, so any decent brand of that would work. Oh and he loves the Chinese restaurant down the street from the precinct, the Jasmine Dragon, so you could get him a gift card there.”

Juliet jotted down all the ideas on her notepad. She’s thrilled to have ideas to work with now. “Thanks, Shawn, this really helps.”

Shawn nodded. “Happy to help.”

* * *

_2001_

_Shawn was woken up by the sound of someone pounding on his front door. He groaned at the sound; his head was pounding. He shuffled out of bed and headed for the door. His pounding headache was quickly explained by the various empty bottles of alcohol on his coffee table and kitchen counter. They weren’t all from last night, but a decent few were._

_“Spence! Pineapples! Open up!”_

_Shawn groaned again. “I’m coming!” He slowly made his way to his front door, trying not to jostle his already nauseous stomach. He opened the door to reveal Cards and Warren “War” Reid on the other side._

_“Damn, Pineapples, you look like shit.”_

_Shawn rolled his eyes and let the two of them inside. “Thanks, War, that means a lot.”_

_The two men walked in and looked around. Cards picked up a bottle of flavored vodka. “You sure are taking your nickname seriously.” There were several bottles of pineapple flavored liquor on the coffee table._

_Shawn shrugged and plopped down onto his couch. “It reminds me of happier days.”_

_War grabbed Shawn’s arm and dragged him up off the couch. “C’mon, the team is going out for food and you’re coming.”_

_“Don’t be the rotten pineapple of the bunch. I’m not going.” He shrugged off his brother’s grip._

_“Yes, you are.” Cards let his commanding tone come through. “We’re all going through a tough time, you especially, and what you need is the team. Not to wallow in your sorrows.”_

_“I’m not wallowing.”_

_“The 12 bottles of pineapple alcohol beg to differ. Now go shower and get dressed. This is for the best.”_

_Shawn almost fought his team leader more, but he knew Cards was right. He needed his team, his family. Gus had gone back to Santa Barbara days ago, and he was sick of being lonely. Shawn nodded and walked off to go shower._

* * *

Shawn got the text invite for Carlton’s party a day later. Gus and he both decided they’d go and show their support of Lassiter, though Gus was still a little salty with the man. Nobody hurt his best friend and got away with it, but Shawn wanted back with Lassiter, so Gus could play nice.

Shawn was a little nervous for the party. He hadn’t really talked with Carlton since last Wednesday when they had their talk, keeping conversation light while they worked the previous case together. He’d been hoping Carly would’ve reached out by now, but he hadn’t, so Shawn wasn’t really sure where they stood.

However, he had the perfect gift for Carly buried somewhere in his apartment. He’d gotten it shortly after he’d found out about Victoria. He’d walked by this tiny history shop in downtown Seattle. He had no reason to go in, not since he and Carlton were no more, but he was drawn inside. There he’d found a tiny, leather-bound book about none other than Colonel Muscum Lassiter from the Civil War. He didn’t know what possessed him to buy it, or keep it, but he had. Now he had a reason to give it to Carly.

They arrived at the party a little early to see Carlton’s front yard full of off-duty officers from the station. They’re all mingling, waiting for Carlton to show up after his shift. They stopped by to say hi to Juliet and the Chief before Gus spotted Carlton’s car pulling down the street. Everyone ducked behind cars and bushes, hiding for the surprise.

When Carlton walked up the front steps they all jumped out and shouted surprise. They then all quickly ducked as Carlton pulled his weapon in his surprise. Shawn quickly approached the man.

“Carly, chill. It’s just us.” He held his hands up placatingly.

Carlton looked around, recognized people from work, and holstered his weapon. “What is everyone doing here?”

“Well, they’re here for your birthday.” Juliet walked over, a hopeful smile on her face.

“My birthday?”

“Yeah, I wanted to surprise you.”

“I don’t like surprises.”

“Sure you do, Lassie-face.” Shawn gave Lassie a knowing look, which Carly ignored.

Carlton looked around before heading inside to put down his briefcase and change. He then let everyone into his house and the party began.

* * *

Carlton hadn’t seen Shawn for a couple of days. That gave him plenty of time to think over their past, their relationship, and their future. Now that Carlton knew Shawn had come back, he felt guilty over leaving him for Victoria, even if Victoria had been just what he needed at the time. Even back then he wanted Shawn over her, and the idea that he could have had that all this time saddened him. Who knew where their relationship would have gone if they’d stayed together.

But they hadn’t, and that was Carlton’s fault. That guilt gnawed at him for days. He had to push through the guilt to even think about what he felt for Shawn now. He still had intense feelings for that handsome, yet childish man, yet he didn’t know if they were feelings he should act on. Were they feelings of love and endearment, or were they residual feelings of passion and lust from when they had sex?

Carlton spent a few days organizing his feelings about Shawn. It wasn’t easy to sort through the newfound guilt on top of everything else, but he felt that Shawn deserved some kind of answer when it came to them. As he thought back on all their memories together, and their interactions now, Carlton felt that love for Shawn blossom again. He thought back on their times together, their dates, their lazy days, and even the bad times, like the few fights they had and having to say goodbye constantly when Shawn had to leave. He felt that he missed those times, especially how easy they seemed to just fit together.

Then Carlton thought more on the present. His biggest resentment was Shawn’s claim to be psychic, but now that he knew it was a mix of hyper observance and intelligence, could he look past that? Could he move passed the lying since Shawn had actually told the truth? Could they be together again?

Carlton found that maybe he could move past it. Shawn was still childish nowadays, but he’d also matured a lot; and Carlton found himself wanting to better get to know this new Shawn. He found himself wanting to talk with Shawn and try to work things out, if they could. Carlton had abandoned Shawn after all, that may not be easily forgiven.

Carlton found his chance to talk to Shawn as his birthday party was winding down. He said goodbye to a few more colleagues before walking over to where Shawn was cleaning up bottles in the living room, something Carlton was extremely grateful for. He reached Shawn’s side and lowered his voice. “Will you stay? I think we should talk.”

Carlton would have to be blind to miss the small look of hope in Shawn’s eyes as he nodded. Carlton walked off and said goodbye to the rest of his guests. Nerves quickly appeared at the idea of being alone with Shawn, to talk, and Carlton found himself not really paying attention to what he was saying as he said goodbye to everyone and then finally Juliet.

“You sure you don’t want me to help you clean up?” Carlton subtly ushered her towards the door.

“No, O’Hara. I think Spencer and I got it from here…Thanks for the party. I had…fun.” Carlton had found that he hadn’t hated the party, so there was that.

“Really?” Juliet smiled. “Good, I’m glad.” She opened the front door and stepped outside. “Happy Birthday, Carlton.” She left.

Carlton closed the door behind her and let out a breath. Now came the hard part.

* * *

Shawn cleaned up the bottles of beer and drinks left behind. He carried the bottles to the kitchen and deposited them in the trash. He finished up just as the Jules left. Now he just had to talk to Carlton.

When Carly had asked him to stay behind, a little bit of hope filled Shawn. Maybe he’d changed his mind and wanted to give them another go. Why else would he want to talk, he’d already sort of apologized for leaving, what else was there to discuss? He headed into the living room to find Carly already waiting for him. They both sat down on the couch without a word.

Shawn waited as Carly sorted through his thoughts.

Carlton turned to face Shawn. “You’re hyper observant.”

Shawn nodded, a smile gracing his face. So he’d figured it out. “With an eidetic memory.”

“You have an eidetic memory?”

“Yup. I remember almost all things that I hear or see.”

Carly nodded and took a minute to process what he was told. “So you use hyper observance and your memory to make calculated guesses about cases.”

“It’s not always a guess, but in a sense, yes.”

“But you still know things that wouldn’t come from guesses. So you’d have to investigate things on your own time. Like you knew the astronomer’s house had poisonous flowers, you had to have gone to the house at some point.”

Shawn nodded. “I did. I investigate the cases just like you do, I just often notice things that are missed the first time around. I also worked at the planetarium for a few days, so I was able to learn some information while I was there that helped with the case.”

Carly nodded again. “So you’re not psychic.”

“…some could see my gift as having a third eye, so technically I could still be considered psychic by some.”

“But you’re not really psychic.”

Shawn sighed, his smile disappearing. “No, I’m not…is that going to be a problem? Because if you rat me out, all my cases could come under review and criminals could walk free.”

Carlton placed a hand on Shawn’s arm. “I’m not going to tell anyone…you’ve done good work, Shawn, that shouldn’t go to waste.”

“So I can still work for the department?” Hope entered Shawn’s voice. He liked what he did and it meant he got to see Lassie often. He didn’t want things to change.

“Yes, but maybe tone down your antics a little.”

Shawn smiled brightly. “I’ll try my best.” He laid a hand on top of Carlton’s. “…What does this mean for us? Is there an us?”

“I’d like to give us a go, if you still want to.”

If possible, Shawn’s smile got even brighter. Carlton smiled back.

“Lassie-frass, don’t be a melted marshmallow without the rest of the s’more. Of course I want to.” To prove his point, Shawn pulled Carly into a kiss.

Carlton kissed back immediately. The kiss deepened and tongue was added. They stood in unison and broke their kiss long enough to reach the bedroom. Shawn slipped off his shirt along the way and turned to Carly once they reached the bed. He helped Carlton make quick work of his button down shirt and slipped it off to reveal the sternum bush that Shawn loved so much. Shawn ran a hand down Carlton’s chest before pulling him down into another kiss.

They stumbled onto the bed and their kisses turned quick and sloppy. Carlton broke their kiss to trail kisses down Shawn’s jaw, neck and down to his chest. Shawn moaned as Carlton took a nipple into his mouth.

Something caught the light to Shawn’s right, and he glanced over out of habit. His heart stopped at the sight of Carlton’s wedding ring resting on the dresser. Something inside Shawn snapped. He couldn’t do this, not if he could get hurt again, in the same way. What was he thinking? Carly was still married and could get back with Victoria at any time.

“Carlton, stop.”

Carly stopped immediately and lifted his head to look at Shawn. “What?”

Shawn pushed Carlton back a little and sat up. “I can’t do this.”

Confusion and then pain crossed over Carlton’s face. “What? Why?”

“Because you’re married.”

“We’re separated.”

“But still married, Carlton. You could go back to her at any time.”

“She doesn’t-.”

“But if she did, what would you do?”

Carlton took too long to respond.

“Exactly. I can’t risk that kind of pain again. You left me for her once, and you’d do it again.” Shawn slipped out from under Carlton and climbed off the bed.

“Shawn-.”

“I’m sorry. I thought I wanted this, and I do, but I can’t. Not with there still being a chance with her.”

“Shawn, it’s always been you.”

“That’s not true, you know that.” He headed towards the door to the bedroom. “…we can talk again when you’re single.” Shawn left the room. He grabbed his shirt from the floor, pulled it on and left the house.

* * *

Carlton sat on his bed and stared after Shawn. What in the hell just happened? He was finally going to get Shawn back…and now he was gone. All because he hadn’t filed for divorce yet. All because he’d been trying to save a broken marriage. If he’d filed for divorce like he’d considered a thousand times, he’d have Shawn again. But he didn’t and now here he was, alone.

He glanced over at the dresser and looked at his wedding ring. He hadn’t worn it in over a year. He’d been trying to fix his marriage, but ever since Shawn came back in his life, his actions were all automatic. He felt he should try to fix it, so he did. But had he really wanted to fix it during the year Shawn had been back?

Should he file for divorce? What was holding him back?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long! I hope you enjoyed it! As always, let me know what you think!


	8. Season One Finale

Shawn entered the Psych office, after dark, with a plastic bag in hand. He locked the front door behind him and headed over to the couch. He sat down and pulled out his phone. He sent out a single text: _I turned Carly down._ He then turned off his phone before getting any responses and tossed it on the nearby desk.

Shawn pulled the first bottle of liquor from the bag and relaxed into the couch.

* * *

9:30pm

Pineapples: _I turned Carly down_

Cards: _Spence what happened_

War: _R u ok_

Snake Eyes _: y did u do that?_

Read: _Shawn talk to us_

11:00 pm

War: _has anyone heard from P?_

1:00 am

Read: _his phone is off, all calls have gone to voicemail_

2:00 am

Snake Eyes: _Should we be worried?_

6:00 am

Cards: _I’ll go check on him, keep you guys posted_

* * *

Shawn was shaken awake the next afternoon. He cracked open his eyes to see his best friend looking worried.

“Shawn, c’mon, wake up.”

His eyes drifted closed again. “I’m up, I’m…up.” Gus slapped his arm, jolting him awake again. “I said I’m up.”

“Uh huh, sure.” Gus walked over and sat at his desk. “So what happened last night?”

Shawn slowly sat up and groaned, a headache pounding behind his eyes. “Nothing, just talked with Lassie.”

“I know that much, but it obviously didn’t go well.” He glanced around at the empty bottles of alcohol. “What happened?”

Shawn rubbed his eyes. “I turned Carlton down.”

Gus nodded. “You okay?”

“Honestly? Not really.”

“You know what you need? A smoothie.”

Shawn knew Gus was trying to help, and he loved him for it. “…a smoothie sounds good.”

“C’mon. We’ll grab smoothies and then head back to your place so you can get a shower, you reek of alcohol.” Gus stood up and headed for the door, followed slowly by Shawn.

“Sounds like a plan, buddy.”

* * *

Gus parked the Blueberry outside Shawn’s apartment complex. They both climbed out of the car, smoothies in hand, and headed inside the building. Shawn stopped dead in his tracks when he saw someone he hadn’t seen in over a year. Gus barely stopped himself from running into Shawn and spilling his smoothie.

“Cards?”

A man stood up and smiled at Shawn. He was about 6 feet tall with dark brown hair, shaved on the sides and longer on top. He had warm brown eyes and his kind smile lit up the room. “Spence, it’s good to see you.” Cards walked over and pulled Shawn into a hug.

“What are you doing here?” Shawn stepped back and looked up at his friend, commanding officer, and brother.

“You texted us all then turned off your phone. We were all worried.”

A sheepish look appeared on Shawn’s face. “Oh right…”

“It’s nice of you to ignore us and go on a drinking binge.” He smelled the alcohol on Shawn.

“It was a bad night.”

“From the little details we got, it sounded like it.”

“I’ll explain everything.”

“You bet your ass you will.” Cards turned to Gus. “Nice to see you again, Gus.”

Gus nodded in greeting. “You too, Ryan.”

The three of them headed up to Shawn’s apartment. Shawn unlocked the door and they walked inside. Shawn and Cards looked around for anything out of place, a habit long ingrained in them. Neither noticed anything.

“So what happened to send you down a pineapple alcohol rabbit hole?”

Shawn sat down on his couch and sipped his smoothie. “I turned Carly down…He finally wanted to try us again, and I had to turn him down.”

“Why’d you have to turn him down?”

“Because he’s still married, Cards. He could go back to her at anytime…I can’t handle that kind of pain again.”

Cards nodded. “I think you made the right choice.”

“Me too,” Gus added. “It’s good to put yourself first. If he wants you like he claims, he’ll file for divorce.”

“But what if he doesn’t?” Shawn sounded small and heartbroken. He wanted Lassie more than anything.

“Then we’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. Now why don’t you go take a shower, then you can show me where all the psychic magic happens.” Cards squeezed Shawn’s shoulder comfortingly.

Shawn nodded and headed out of the room to shower.

Cards sat down on the couch and looked over at Gus. “I better never meet this guy, or I’m going to kick his ass.”

“Please do.”

* * *

“You named your business ‘Psych’? Isn’t that a little on the nose?”

“That’s what I said.” Gus, Shawn, and Cards headed inside the office building.

“The name is like half the fun.” Why didn’t anyone see that? Shawn led the way into the office and gave the tour. “This is our quote unquote waiting room, though we hardly ever have clients waiting. And this is our main office, we work on cases, watch tv, mess around-.” He stopped walking when he noticed a woman in their office. The other two stop walking as well. “Excuse us, may we help you?”

The woman turned around and they were shocked to see it was Jules. “Hey guys.”

“Damn, girl.” Gus hardly believed it was her, dressed in the preppy skirt and top.

Jules smiled. “Yeah, I know. Get it all out now. I barely recognize myself. But isn't it kind of amazing?” She pulled business cards from her binder and walked over to them. “Mary Lou Baumgartner. National Alumni Vice Parliamentarian. Beta Kappa Theta Sorority- Oh. Hello.” She finally noticed Cards standing behind her friends. She was suddenly hesitant to reveal she was undercover.

“It’s fine, Jules, he’s an old friend.” He motioned to his friend. “This is Cards, Cards, this is Jules.” He then motioned to Jules.

Cards held out his hand. “So not Mary Lou?”

“She’s undercover,” Shawn added.

Cards nodded. “Nice to meet you, you can call me Ryan.”

Jules shook his hand. “So not Cards?”

“I’ll respond to either.” He smiled charmingly.

“Cards is ex-military. He got the nickname there.”

“And how do you know each other?”

“We met when I worked near a military base years ago.”

Jules nodded. “Well like Shawn said, I’m undercover. Deep. I have spent the entire morning planning a mixer! And yesterday, I went and I had a Himalayan mani-pedi. At first it was just to get the other girls to talk, but then I realized my cuticles have been completely taken for granted-.”

Shawn interrupted. “Jules, you realize that we are the only ones that can see or hear you.”

“Okay, I admit. I've been undercover a week now, and it's really hard to get out of this mindset. These girls, they are demons. They are vicious little prairie dogs with trust funds and collagen parties. It's been a lot to juggle, especially while planning Carlton’s party on top of everything. I need a favor.”

Shawn and Gus nodded, willing to help a friend out. “Okay.”

“I've been at the university investigating the death of a coed, Doreen Harthan.”

Both of them suddenly became uncomfortable, not missed by Jules or Cards. “The girl they found at Wispy Sunny Pines? Wasn't that a suicide?”

“Allegedly. A copycat job. I guess Santa Barbara has some sort of urban legend about a mental patient who jumped from room 413.”

“Scary Sherry.”

“We know that one.” Shawn glanced over at Gus.

“Yeah, well, I'm not so sure about the suicide angle and Interim Chief Vick is putting a tremendous amount of faith in me to crack this thing and I need to build a case. So I'm here, but I'm not. Get it?” Jules pulled the case file out of her binder and handed it to Shawn.

“Gus, what's the word?”

“That'd be mum.”

“Doreen was pledging a sorority. And I, or, Mary Lou, am helping my sisters through this very difficult time. I'm convinced they know more than they're letting on. I need a psychic to read the sorority house. Can you come by tonight?”

“Can we wear pajamas?” Shawn asked.

“No.”

“Even better.”

“Guys, this is serious, there's some really weird stuff that's been going on. The girls are petrified, they think they're being haunted.”

“By what?”

Juliet hesitated to tell them.

“Oh, come on, Jules. You know we're gonna come, man up. Just tell us.”

“Doreen Harthan's lumbering ghost.”

“Lumbering?”

Shawn shrugged. “Seems completely logical to me.”

“Meet me at the house at 7:00. And remember, I was never here.” Juliet walked past them and headed for the door.

Shawn hesitated before stopping her with a question. He had to know if he was going to run into him. “Quick question. Where's Lassiter for all of this?”

“Temporary re-assignment. Bye.” Juliet left the Psych officer, leaving the three men alone.

“You’re scared of a local legend?” Cards was amused.

“We were there the night that Scary Sherry jumped,” Shawn said, defensively. “It’s a sensitive topic for us.”

Cards held up his hands, placatingly. “Understood. So this is what you do? Help beautiful detectives with ghost hauntings?”

Shawn ignored the ‘beautiful’ comment. “We’ve helped on plenty of real cases, thank you very much. I wouldn’t risk my military career for fake ghost hauntings.”

“Hey, you heard Juliet, those girls are terrified. We shouldn’t count out that there’s a real ghost involved.”

Shawn held back an eyeroll. “I’m all for believing in ghosts, Gus, but come on. I doubt this is a real ghost haunting a bunch of sorority brats.”

“You never know.”

“Maybe.” He brought his hands up to his temples. “But I’m sensing it’s not a ghost in this case.”

This time Gus rolled his eyes. “You’re not psychic, Shawn.”

* * *

Cards and Gus spent the day distracting Shawn from thinking about Lassie. Shawn and Gus gave Cards a tour of the area, stopping at each of their favorite food places until they were all too full to even move. They then headed back to the Psych office to rest off all the food.

The three of them headed out and met Jules at the sorority house at 7. Jules was shocked to see Cards with them, but let it slide, leading them inside and introducing them to all the girls. The sorority girls immediately began to ogle over the fresh meat that was three attractive men.

Gus and Cards sat on one couch, while Shawn sat on the other. The girls quickly filled the empty seats. Shawn did a few ‘psychic’ readings for the girls when they asked before Jules got them on track.

“See, Bianca? Now tell Shawn what happened to you last night.”

“Okay, here goes. This is so scary.”

The three of them had to stop themselves from rolling their eyes at how dramatic Bianca was.

“I was lying in bed, watching One Tree Hill, my favorite show, Chad Michael Murray is so hot. And I have this cute liquid kitty alarm clock, right? It meows and it blinks its eyes every half hour. So, all of a sudden, they just started blinking over and over and over and then it just stopped. And then, it let out this half-meow.” Bianca meowed in example. “And then its tail fell off. Then it exploded.”

“Wow.” Shawn took a second to process the overdramatic, ridiculous story he just heard. “Slow build. Half meow, unexpected.” He looked to Cards, who nodded in agreement. “Didn't see the end coming at all. How about you, Gus?”

Gus kept most of his attention on the girls fawning over him. “What? No, I can't say I did.”

“Anybody else?”

All at once all the girls started talking at once, spewing nonsense about this or that happening to them.

Jules raised her voice over the chatter. “Okay, so basically it's a lot of really weird stuff that's creepy and happens at night. Mr. Spencer is it?”

“So are you really in the military? You a marine? You look like a marine.” One of the girls sitting next to Cards interrupted. She had a hand on one of his arms, feeling his muscles.

Cards tried to not look offended by the Marine assumption, while Shawn smirked, knowing it would bother his friend to be called a Marine of all things.

“Army, actually. Special Forces.”

“Ooh, that sounds impressive.”

“Very impressive.” A few of the girls started asking questions over themselves again, until Shawn spoke up.

“So, I'm gonna have to take a look around to see what I feel. Starting with the bedrooms.”

Jules nodded. “Of course. I'll show you upstairs.”

“Ask him.” One of the girls next to Gus spoke to a friend.

“You ask him.”

Gus smiled. “What? What do you wanna ask me, girls? Don't be nervous. I put my pants on one leg at a time, just like you.”

Shawn rolled his eyes.

“Okay. Did you really play Bud on The Cosby Show?”

“Bud? Who told you that?”

Bianca added to the conversation. “I knew I recognized you!”

“Wait, wait I'm not-.”

“Oh, come-on, don't be modest, Gus. You are totally Bud!”

“Shawn, you believe this?”

Shawn was trying not to laugh at Gus’ hatred at being called Bud. “No, no, no, I didn't catch anything, Bud.”

“Stop telling people that my name is Bud.”

The lights went out causing all the girls to gasp. Shawn and Cards were on their feet immediately.

A deep voice rang out throughout the room “Get out! Acnaib! Acnaib! Acnaib!”

Shawn moved behind his friend, knowing if something happened, his team leader was armed.

The girls gasped and screamed as a scary ghost figure appeared in the front window. The lights flickered back on and the front door slammed open as Gus ran outside as fast as he could, screaming as he went.

“Oh, Gus.”

* * *

After Gus bolted, Jules handled calming down the girls while Shawn and Cards took a look around outside, trying to find the cause of the “haunting.” They quickly figured out the face in the window and then found the source of the voice. The two of them headed back inside the house and Jules joined them a few minutes later. Shawn showed Jules the speaker and explained how the face in the window was done. They discussed a possible suspect, Alice Bundy, before Shawn and Cards headed out.

Cards drove them to Shawn’s apartment, and the two of them headed inside. Cards would be staying on Shawn’s couch for a couple of days. “So what’s next for this case?”

“Well tomorrow I have to go to the military base and teach, sadly. I figured you could come with, scare some sense into the recruits.” Cards smiled and nodded. “Then I figured I’d show you some of the places I solved crimes, while we wait for Jules to talk to Alice Bundy, then we’d do some case research. At the moment, we don’t even know if this is a case. I know Jules thinks those girls know something about the girl’s death, but there’s no proof and these could all just be some harmless pranks against a bunch of mean sorority girls. We’ll look into it for Jules, but I don’t have much faith in this.” He shrugged. He grabbed his phone off the kitchen counter where he laid it this morning and finally turned it back on after last night.

It quickly started buzzing with texts from his brothers. They started off worried and then turned to comforting after Cards had updated them all on the situation. Seeing the texts brought the whole night back to Shawn and his mood quickly declined.

Cards watched Shawn’s mood change through his facial expressions. “You wanna talk about it?”

“What’s there to talk about? I’m in love with a married guy, Cards. I’ve set myself up for heartbreak, and I don’t know what to do except wait for Carly to make the next move…if he makes a move.”

“Don’t think like that, Spence, it’ll all turn out okay.”

Shawn just shrugged and set his phone back down after seeing no texts from Carly. “I’m gonna head to bed, I’ll see you in the morning.” He headed into his room, leaving a worried Cards behind.

* * *

The next morning, Shawn and Cards headed to the nearby military base to train some recruits and were there until early afternoon. While they waited to hear from Juliet, they grabbed some food and Shawn showed Cards where he solved different cases.

They finally heard from Juliet and she informed them that she got completely snubbed by Alice Bundy, which didn’t give them any information at all about the girl. Juliet was still suspicious of her, but without more information, or proof that it wasn’t a suicide, they had nothing.

Shawn and Cards headed into the Psych office and ran into Gus who’d been doing research all day. “Hey buddy, good news. I just got a fax confirming that the city of Santa Barbara has unanimously voted you Exorcist of the year.”

“Okay, make all your little jokes. But I know who was hiding behind Cards the whole time.”

“I wasn’t hiding, I was protecting myself by standing by the guy who had a gun. I was smart.”

Gus rolled his eyes. “Look, both the parents and the best friend were adamant that Doreen had too much to live for to kill herself. Plus, she was pledging a sorority.”

Shawn looked over the clear board that Gus had set up for research. “Right.”

“Now, take another look at this.”

Shawn took the photo of the window Doreen fell out of and quickly noticed that the latch was broken. “The latch is broken.”

“And she fell backwards.”

“Scary Sherry took a swan dive.”

“Exactly.”

“Gus, you are on fire.”

“Thank you.”

“The copy cat suicide angle literally goes out the window. What next?”

“I couldn't find the word "acnaib" anywhere. I checked alternate spellings, all possible roots, nothing in Latin.”

Shawn picked up the marker and looked over Gus’ work.

“So now I'm going through the dead languages by region. Sanskrit was a wash, as was Avestan. Up next is Old Church Slavonic, but to be honest I think it's all just nonsensical gibberish. But it's gotta mean something. The voice in the house kept repeating it.”

Shawn wrote down an alternate spelling of “ACNAIB” and stared at it. He imitated the ghost’s voice. “Acnaib. Acnaib. Acnaib.” He shrugged, having no idea what it meant, but then he saw the reflection of the word on his motorcycle helmet and it spelled Bianca.

Gus and Cards noticed the look on Shawn’s face and knew he’d figured it out.

“What's Juliet's number? I have a theory.”

“What's the theory?”

Shawn pulled out his phone. “Gus, just feed me the digits.”

“Why do I always have to ask what the damn theory is, Shawn?”

“Gus!”

Gus sighed but gave Shawn the digits anyway. Shawn called Jules.

“Hello?”

“Is Bianca with you?”

“Who wants to know?”

“Jules, where is she?” Shawn sounded impatient.

“Okay, tone. She's back at the house with Betty, running late for the mixer. Just like me.

“All right, listen, I've had a vision. We need to meet at the sorority house on the fly.”

“Shawn, I can't. I have to make the spirit speech and who's gonna fuse the planter's punch-?”

“Jules! Doreen didn't kill herself. She was not alone in that room. And we need to talk to Bianca right now!” Shawn tossed the Blueberry keys to Gus. “She's in danger!”

“Okay, I’ll meet you there.”

Shawn hung up and led the way out of the office, Cards and Gus following behind.

“What’s the theory Shawn?”

“Acnaib is Bianca spelled backwards. I think this person is going to go after her.”

Cards hopped in his truck and followed the Blueberry to the sorority house. When they got there they arrived after Jules and the three of them ran inside. They ran up the stairs when they finally saw Juliet. She shook her head, Bianca was gone.

Juliet called the police and they all waited for them to arrive on the scene and seal it off. Then Juliet, Betty who’s Bianca’s friend, Shawn, Gus, and Cards headed into the station to talk to the Chief. Cards waited in the lobby while everyone else went into the meeting room.

Cards leaned back into his chair until he saw the last person he wanted to see enter the precinct. Carlton Lassiter, he recognized him from pictures Shawn showed them all. Cards watched the man head to his desk before getting up and following.

Carlton was rummaging around on his desk when Cards walked up.

“Lassiter?”

“Yeah.” Carlton didn’t even look up.

“We need to talk.” Cards voice was hard and this caught Carlton’s attention. The man looked up.

“Do I know you?”

“No, but I know of you. You need to get your shit together, or back the hell off, because this is not okay.”

“Excuse me?”

Cards lowered his voice but kept it’s intensity. “You need to make up your mind about Shawn. Quit leading him on. Either get a divorce or back the hell off. There’s no in between. You’re hurting him, and if you care about him at all that’ll mean something to you.” Cards then walked off and went back to his seat in the lobby, leaving a shocked Carlton behind.

* * *

Following Betty’s confession, the three of them headed to their respective apartments for the night. Cards crashed on Shawn’s couch again, and Shawn ended up staying up most of the night researching the case on his tablet. He fell asleep mid-research and jolted awake from a nightmare, his tablet resting on his face. He shuffled out of his room to see Cards making eggs and bacon for breakfast.

Cards handed Shawn a mug of coffee and bowl of freshly cut pineapple when he reached the kitchen.

“How late did you stay up researching the case?”

Shawn shrugged as he sat at his table and dug into the pineapple. “I don’t know, 4 or 5?”

“Find out anything?”

“Not really, just that Alice Bundy is likely our girl, because she had the most to gain. I looked her up and her and Doreen were extremely close, like Gus and I. I know that if my best friend was killed, I’d get revenge too.”

Cards nodded. They ate their breakfast before heading into the office to meet Gus. Gus was sitting at his desk when they arrived.

“Did you check the messages? We hear anything from Jules?”

“Yeah. Alice Bundy's alibi is air tight. She lives with Doreen's family. Said she went upstairs to bed early that night and the parents confirmed it, they were still downstairs awake when the police called.”

“Then who the hell's doing this? She’s the perfect suspect.”

“Oh. And your dad called.”

Shawn sighed. “What could he possibly want?”

“Said he wanted to remind you about dinner tonight. You're supposed to bring dessert. He actually seemed sort of excited.”

“Oh, God, that's tonight.” Shawn glanced at Cards and had an idea. “Dude, you have to come.”

Cards shrugged. “Sure.”

“Sweet.” Shawn turned to Gus and noticed him packing up his work case. “What are you doing?”

“I have to start and ultimately finish my route.”

“Awesome. We’re going to find Alice "best friend" Bundy.”

“Don't you think that girl has been through enough, Shawn?”

“Gus, there is no such thing as an air tight alibi. And if there is, we're going to pretend like there isn't. This girl is Sharon Stone from Basic Instinct. Which makes me Michael Douglas and you George Dzundza. Who's name is actually Gus in the film! Until we have another lead, we assume it's her. We've just got to figure out the "how." So far, no ice pick.”

Gus grabbed his case and walked over to Shawn. “First of all, don't ever compare my black ass to George Dzundza again, okay?”

“Fair.”

“And what can you possibly ask that girl that the police already haven't?”

* * *

“Wanna split a pineapple? That was how you started that conversation?”

Cards and Shawn were in Cards’ truck, recapping the conversation Shawn just had with Alice Bundy.

“She was wearing two of the same ring, I bet you that one of them was Doreen’s.”

“And what does that tell you?”

“Not much, but she’s either a fantastic actress or telling the truth. People do terrible things when they’re hurting. I just hope she didn’t do this.”

* * *

Dinner went swimmingly. Shawn was right in his assumption that his dad would love Cards. He was exactly like Shawn, except he wasn’t a disappointment of a son, so Henry had to love him.

“So are you taking a break from the military as well?”

Henry had tried to get Shawn to explain what he was doing in town instead of being active with his team, but Shawn was closed-lipped. Maybe he could get an answer from Cards.

“I am. Actually the whole team is.”

“Any reason why?”

Cards glanced at Shawn who shook his head. He hadn’t told his dad a thing.

“We just earned a year leave is all and we all decided to take it. We’ll be back to active work in no time.”

Henry nodded. He wasn’t blind, he knew they were hiding something, but it wasn’t his place to push. Not with company around.

“Boy, we really should be going.”

“Come on, guys. Shawn, stay. Your case will still be there.” Henry grabbed a round of beers from the fridge. Cards graciously accepted the beer, Shawn passed.

“The sooner we can crack this case and move on the better. Believe me.”

“This wouldn't have anything to do with the Wispy Sunny Pines suicide now, would it?”

“No.”

“Yes, sir.”

Shawn shot Cards a look. He merely shrugged.

Henry smirked. “Ooh, the plot thickens.”

“Okay. It's true, fine. It hits a little close to home seeing as how we were there the first time it happened.”

“First time what happened? Did you open your eyes?” Henry was not impressed.

“Dad, you've known me my whole life. Of course, I opened my eyes.”

“Shawn, that is why I used to refuse to let you ride around with me.”

“Dad, let it go, I was nine.”

“It's a lack of respect. Of protocol.”

“Of protocol? Again, can I plead nine years old?”

“And you and Gus have been freaked out about this your entire lives?” Henry found the situation hilarious, and it showed on his face.

“I really don't think it's funny.”

“Shawn, how much did you see?”

“I didn't exactly see it.”

“See it?”

“Yeah, I didn’t exactly see her fall to her death, but I saw enough.”

“Oh, I beg to differ. It seems you missed one very small but important detail. She never jumped.”

“What? No, that's impossible. We saw the window, she was gone.”

“Yeah. Because one off-duty police officer pulled her back inside.” Henry motioned to himself. “Scary Sherry Craddock was rehabilitated. I'm pretty sure she's married and lives in Fresno.”

Shawn looked at him in disbelief.

“Come on, give me some credit. I have no idea how that ridiculous urban legend got started in the first place.” Henry stood up to dispose of his empty beer can.

“It was your big mouth, wasn’t it.” Cards phrased it as a statement, not a question.

“We may have told everyone who would listen.”

“So you started an urban legend?”

Shawn smiled. “I guess we did.” He held out his knuckles and Cards bumped his fist.

“That’s fantastic.”

Henry walked over and leaned down to speak into Shawn’s ear. “Sometimes, Shawn, the answer is right in front of your eyes. You just need to choose to see it.” He started to clear the table.

Shawn was uncomfortable. “That was creepy.”

* * *

Cards and Shawn went to Alice Bundy’s house the next day while Gus finished his route. “Alright, here’s the plan. You ring the doorbell and distract who...Who...Whom…Who...The person. The person that answers the door. I go around back and look for a way in.”

“Seriously? You’re a master strategist, and that’s the best you could come up with?”

“Feel free to make revisions.”

Cards rolled his eyes and they climbed out of the truck. “Any idea on how I should distract them?”

“You’re a master strategist who can think on their feet, figure it out.” Shawn smirked before heading around back.

Cards walked up to the front door and rang the doorbell. A kind looking lady answered the door. “Mrs. Harthan?”

“No. The Harthans are down at the cemetery. I'm Poppy, the housekeeper. May I help you?”

Cards caught her accent and smiled. “Yes. I’m a member of the U.S. Army and we’re going around the neighborhood trying to raise money for the orphans of Scotland. Would you be interested in helping?”

* * *

Shawn snuck around to the backyard and walked around the pool. He found the backdoor and crawled through the doggy door, listening for anyone else in the house. When he heard no one, he entered.

He walked down the hall and noticed that Cards was having tea with the housekeeper. Shawn was impressed; he heard them talking about Scotland before he continued on his way, sadly passing cupcakes that he couldn’t have. Shawn headed into the study and looked through a photo album noticing a picture where both Alice and Doreen were wearing matching rings. The same rings Alice had been wearing.

He paused flipping through the book when he heard a cell phone going off. Shawn thought for a second before quickly putting away the album and scrambling for his phone. He hurried down the hall, motioning to his phone when Cards saw him before hustling out the door. He heard Cards raise his voice to cover the noise.

Shawn exited the house and answer the phone. “I'm sorry, who is this?”

“Shawn, it's Eden!”

“Who?”

“From Beta Kappa Theta. Are you coming to our party or, like, what the heck? There are cops here and everything.”

Shawn walked out through the back gate and walked up the side of the house. “Let me talk to Mary Lou.”

“Mary Lou had to go to some candlelight vigil thingy for Doreen.”

“Vigil? What vigil? There was-.”

“Yeah, at that creepy Wispy Sunny Pines' place.”

Shawn noticed a tar stain on the rain gutters attached to the house. He quickly remembered Betty confessing to burying the ghost robes in the tar pits. Alice must have gone and grabbed it, she had been at the tar pits.

“What about Bud? Can he come?” Shawn hung up the phone. He looked up seeing the gutters went all the way up to the roof which led to a second story window, likely Alice’s room if his hunch was correct. He noticed an identical tar smudge by the window. If Alice had the dress, she was the one pranking the house. Then Alice likely climbed out of her window the night she claimed to have gone to bed, meaning Alice could’ve killed Bianca.

Shawn called Cards and told him they could leave. Cards met him at the truck a few minutes later.

“It was her. And I've got the how. We have to go to Wispy Sunny Pines.”

“I thought you wanted to go to the sorority house.”

“The girls are fine. The cops are there. Meanwhile, Juliet's at some candlelight vigil with Doreen's family at the asylum.”

“No. The housekeeper said Doreen's parents were at the cemetery.”

“What?"

“Yeah, they’ve been at the cemetery all evening.”

“Oh, God! Of course. Why mess around with the worker bees when you can kill the queen?”

“What are you talking about, Shawn?”

“Cards. Alice. She wanted us all at that party, including us, so that she could get Mary Lou by herself. This is Silence of the Lambs! Which means we're both Scott Glen.” They both climbed into the truck and Shawn called Gus on their way, who met them there. Shawn was tempted to call Lassiter, but didn’t want to deal with that right now, deciding that Cards and himself could handle it.

* * *

The first thing Gus did when they all arrived at Wispy Sunny Pines was start listing off a bunch of rules that Shawn barely even heard, focused on getting into the asylum to save Juliet. Cards handed Shawn his backup firearm just in case. The three of them heard screaming from inside and rushed into the building.

Cards led the way followed by Gus then Shawn after Gus demanded Shawn go last, according to his rules. Gus ended up getting his foot stuck and Shawn promised to come back for him before leaving him behind, much to Gus’ dismay.

Cards and Shawn started clearing rooms, guns at the ready when they heard Juliet scream. They raced down the hall and came face to face with Juliet hovering over Alice, ax in hand.

“You are under arrest, you crazy, crazy, crazy, crazy bitch!”

“Stand down!” Cards trained his weapon on Alice but kept an eye on Juliet.

“Juliet!” Shawn quickly stuck his gun in his waistband and approached Juliet slowly, hands visible. “Hey.” He gently grabbed the ax from Jules. “I got it.” She hesitantly let go.

Cards holstered his weapon and pulled out a set of zip ties, he dragged Alice Bundy to her feet and zip tied her arms behind her back. Juliet took a deep breath before starting to read Alice her rights. The three of them headed downstairs.

“Spence, I think you’re forgetting something.”

“What-? Gus!” Shawn headed back upstairs to free his friend.

* * *

Juliet called Lassiter to come take Alice to the station since she didn’t have a squad car. Carlton was thrilled to have an excuse to leave his crazy temporary partner. He checked Juliet over to make sure she was okay after he put Alice in the back of his car.

“I’m fine, Carlton. Not a scratch on me.”

“Good. I’d hate to be stuck with Goochberg any longer than necessary.”

“You don’t like your new assignment?”

“Not in the slightest, I’ll tell you all about my week after you tell me about yours.”

Juliet smiled. “Deal.”

Carlton climbed into his car, purposely not casting a single glance Shawn’s way. He drove off leaving everyone else behind.

* * *

“Your new life seems exciting.” Cards, Shawn and Gus were leaning against Card’s truck.

Shawn shrugged. “It can be. I really like it.”

“I don’t know how you’re going to leave it when we go back to active duty.”

“You’re going to return to active duty?” This was the first Gus heard of this, he just assumed Shawn was done for good now that he was setting down roots.

“Eventually. Some stuff has to happen first before we can return, but yeah. Being here was only temporary.” Shawn refused to look at Gus, knowing he wouldn’t be thrilled by this news.

“Oh. I see.” Gus walked off to the Blueberry without another word.

“Sorry, Spence, I had no idea he didn’t know.”

“It’s fine, he was bound to find out eventually. I guess sooner is better than later.” Shawn watched as his friend drove off.

Juliet walked over then and thanked them for the assistance before she headed to her car and drove off for the station.

“Do we need to give our statements or anything?”

Shawn nodded. “But we can go in tomorrow and do that, I’m exhausted. Let’s head home.”

* * *

Carlton had been thinking about Shawn for most of the day while dealing with Goochberg. He knew Shawn would get a kick out of him being partnered with the worst partner ever. It had been the longest couple of days ever, not just because of Goochberg, but because Shawn had been on Carlton’s mind since the man had left his house just four days ago.

He couldn’t figure out what was holding him back from filing for divorce. He still loved Victoria, but Victoria had made it pretty clear that they were over. So why stay married? He didn’t even want Victoria if he could have Shawn, so why not file for divorce. It seemed pretty simple.

Yet something was holding him back. Maybe it was because he didn’t believe Shawn was going to stick around for good. Maybe it was because he still felt abandoned by Shawn, even though he now knew that wasn’t true. It could be a number of things and Carlton didn’t know how to get past them.

He loved Shawn, he knew that. He loved him more than he’d loved anyone else, even Victoria. And he knew Shawn loved him back. So maybe he just needed to take a leap of faith and divorce Victoria. Then he could have Shawn again.

He had been thinking about this for days, and as he sat at his desk, waiting for Juliet to finish her statement, he realized that maybe nothing was truly holding him back. Maybe he could finally get what he wanted. All he had to do was sign some silly papers and he could have something that made him happy. It was that simple.

Carlton pulled out his cell phone and dialed his first speed dial.

* * *

Shawn unlocked his apartment door and the two of them headed inside. Shawn immediately noticed something new in his apartment and pulled out the gun he still had. Cards quickly followed suit. Shawn slowly approached the new item sitting on his kitchen counter. His heart stopped at seeing a picture of him and Lassie kissing on Carlton’s front porch with Lassie’s face crossed out with red marker. He gently picked up the photo to get a closer look.

“Shawn!”

What Shawn didn’t notice was the small black box underneath the photo with a countdown clock. It had 5 seconds on it. Cards grabbed Shawn’s arm and dragged his brother towards the front door. They opened the door when the small bomb went off sending them flying into the wall in the hallway.

Shawn saw flames before everything went black.

Moments later his phone rang in his pocket.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, y'all it means a lot. Sorry this chapter took so long, but I hope you enjoyed the Season Finale! A lot of things are coming soon, including more of the Hell Hounds Team, so look out for future chapters. Please feel free to leave a comment, I always make sure to respond to each and every one. I love you all :)


	9. The Aftermath

Carlton was disappointed when his call went to voicemail. He considered calling again when Juliet walked over, having finished giving her statement. Carlton put his phone away and focused on his partner. “How’d it go?”

“Oh, fine, same as always.” Juliet pulled a chair up to Carlton’s desk and sat down. “Now tell me about your week with Goochberg. I’ve already heard some interesting stories.”

Carlton sighed. “It was a disaster, honestly. I have no idea what I did to make the Chief stick me with her. She must be mad at me about something.”

Just then the Chief exited her office and called out to her detectives. “There’s been a bombing, head out to the site, figure out what’s going on.”

Carlton and Juliet got to their feet immediately. “Where at, Chief?”

“Redman Apartments.”

Carlton’s heart stopped. Juliet noticed Carlton’s face go white. “What’s wrong?”

“That’s Shawn’s apartment building.”

Juliet’s face fell and the two of them raced out of the station. They climbed into Carlton’s Crown Vic and headed towards the location of the bombing.

* * *

Shawn came too while being carried out of his apartment building. He blinked a few times and glanced around, trying to figure out where he and his team were and what mission they were on. It took him almost a minute to realize he wasn’t in the middle of a combat zone and he was in fact in Santa Barbara.

Cards set Shawn down gently and was glad to see his brother awake. “Shawn, you with me?”

Shawn nodded and immediately regretted it, his head pounding. “Yeah, I’m with you. What happened?”

“Well what do you remember?” Cards needed to know how much memory Shawn lost, trying to gage how bad his concussion likely was.

Flashes of the last ten minutes play through Shawn’s mind. “Um, we got back to the apartment…something wasn’t right…I saw a photo of Lassie and me…then everything goes dark.”

Cards nodded. “There was a small bomb under the photo. Couldn’t have been bigger than 2 by 5. It wasn’t meant to take down the building, just take out you.”

“There was a red X over Lassie’s face, they’re going after him next. We gotta-.” He tried to stand up and Cards pushed him back down.

“You just got knocked unconscious by a bomb, you’re not going anywhere until paramedics check you out. I’m pretty sure both of us have a few burns.”

Shawn sighed and started to assess the damage. He felt pain on his back and arms, likely minor burns from the blast. His head was throbbing, which would mean a concussion. He then checked his surroundings.

People were exiting the building, which was now on fire from the blast. He heard sirens coming down the street, which was good. No one coming out of the building seemed injured which was a plus.

Shawn glanced over Cards who was scanning the area. His brother had holes in his shirt, likely meaning he had burns as well. He didn’t know if Cards had been knocked out, but it seemed unlikely if he got him out of the building so fast.

The blast…caused by a small bomb, meant for him. And Lassie was the next target, making this personal. There was a likely suspect, and he wondered if he was the only target or if his brothers were in danger too. They had hoped the terrorist that chased them out of active duty would have been caught by now, but that obviously wasn’t the case. And if he was targeting Shawn personally, then everyone he knew could be in danger. Fuck.

Shawn was dragged out of his thoughts by a familiar voice.

“Shawn!”

He turned to see Juliet and Carlton rushing over to him. He instantly relaxed seeing that Carlton was okay. He met Carlton’s eyes and saw the fear and love in them, and he just knew, something was different.

“Shawn, we’re so glad you’re okay!” Jules pulled Shawn into a hug; he tried not to flinch when she hit the burns. Shawn never broke eye contact with Carlton while he hugged Jules.

Juliet stepped back and Shawn finally looked at her. “We heard there was a bomb at your place, and we got so worried!”

Shawn smiled a little. “I’m fine, Jules, nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about after you’ve been checked out by a paramedic,” Cards added.

“Why do you need to be looked at-?”

“We were just close to the bomb is all, but there’s no need to worry. I’m fine.”

Cards scoffed and Carlton tensed.

Shawn ignored his commanding officer. “Why don’t you go coordinate with the Fire Chief and start your investigation. I promise you, I’m fine.”

Juliet was hesitant but eventually nodded and left to go do just that.

Carlton stayed where he was and glanced Shawn over, looking for injuries. Then he pulled Shawn into a hug. It was tense for a second before Shawn hugged Carlton back. Shawn was thrilled to see that Carlton was okay. Carlton was glad to see Shawn in one piece, he had assumed the worse. He slipped a hand in Shawn’s hair and tensed when he felt something wet. Shawn hissed in pain.

Carlton stepped back and noticed blood on his hand. “Shawn, did you hit your head?”

“Yeah, the bomb knocked us into a wall. But I’m fine.”

Carlton wasn’t listening and was already waving over some paramedics.

“I don’t need-.”

“Quit arguing, you’re getting checked out.” Cards used his commanding tone and Shawn reluctantly nodded.

Two paramedics walked over and Carlton told them to check out Cards and Shawn. Carlton squeezed Shawn’s shoulder before leaving to join Juliet in coordinating the investigation. The paramedics had Cards and Shawn take a seat before checking them over.

Shawn and Cards both had various burns, some superficial, a few worse than that. Shawn needed stitches on the cut on the back of his head and he a had a severe concussion. Cards ended up having a sprained wrist from catching himself from hitting the wall. The paramedics treated the burns and wrist, but the stitches had to be done at the hospital.

Cards promised to take Shawn immediately after they talked to the detectives about the bomb. The two of them waited awhile for the detectives to finish what they were doing, before they came back around to ask them some questions.

“So, Carlton said the bomb knocked you into a wall. Did you guys get a chance to see it?” Juliet asked.

“Yeah, it was a small black box, about 4 by 5 by 2 I’d say. It had about 5 seconds on it when I saw it,” Cards answered.

“Where was it?”

“It was in my apartment, Jules, the bomb was meant for me.”

“Oh my gosh, Shawn. Why didn’t you say that first?”

“Because I knew you’d worry about me instead of dealing with the fire and making sure everyone was safe.”

“That’s not-.”

“We both know it’s true, Jules.”

Juliet didn’t agree, but knew it was true.

“Do you know who would leave a bomb for you?” Carlton asked.

“Yes.”

They waited for Shawn to elaborate, but he never did. “And who would that be?”

“I can’t tell you, not without special permission.”

“Special permission? Shawn what are you talking about?” Juliet was at a complete loss, but Carlton caught on, realizing it had something to do with the military, likely classified.

“I have to have permission from my superiors, Jules, it’s complicated.” Shawn glanced at Cards who nodded. Cards walked off to make a phone call.

“I don’t understand.”

“I know, and I’ll explain everything when I can. You both should probably call the Chief. She’s likely about to have her station invaded by Homeland and military police.”

Carlton nodded and dragged Jules off before she could ask more questions.

Cards walked back over a few minutes later. “Doc said he’ll call the locals. We’re about to have a major investigation on our hands.”

Shawn nodded. “That’s what I expected…Cards, Lassie is the next target.”

“I know. We’ll keep him safe, Spence. I promise.”

“You know better than to make promises you can’t keep.”

“Well I plan to keep this one.” He ruffled Shawn’s hair, cautious of his cut. “Now lets get you to the hospital for those stitches.”

Shawn grumbled about it but didn’t put up a fight as he was dragged to Cards’ truck.

* * *

8:30pm

Cards: _Moreno tried to kill Shawn_

Snake-eyes: _Wtf, how?_

Cards: _Bomb. We got out fine, just a few burns and stitches_

War: _Is he after all of us?_

Cards: _We think Lassiter is the next target_

Read: _I’m getting on the next plane_

War: _Same_

Snake-eyes: _Me too_

Cards: _See you guys soon_

* * *

“They don’t all need to come here, there’s a good chance we won’t be allowed in the investigation.” Shawn and Cards were back in Cards’ truck after getting Shawn stitched up.

“They know that. But their brother was just targeted by a bomb, they’re going to worry until they see you in one piece.”

“…yeah, I know.”

“So we’ll see them all tomorrow.” Cards’ phone rang just then. “Jackson…Yes, sir…Yes, sir, right away.” He hung up. “I hope you’re ready for a long night, that was Doc, we need to report to SBPD immediately.”

Shawn sighed. “Fucking great.” He leaned his head against the window as Cards drove to the station.

* * *

Juliet and Carlton walked into the station and noticed a tense atmosphere. “What do you think is going on?”

Carlton shrugged. The two of them walked through the station towards their desks and quickly realized why it was so tense – there were military officers and Homeland Agents in the conference room with the Chief.

“Why is the military and Homeland here?”

“You’ll know when you need to know, O’Hara.”

Just then the Chief waved the two of them into the conference room. The two of them entered and moved to stand by the Chief. “Detectives, these are Sergeant Majors Jensen and Erickson, and Agents Ross and Adams from Homeland Security. Agents, Sergeant Majors, this is my Head Detective Lassiter and his partner Detective O’Hara.”

They all shook hands.

“As we were saying, this is highly classified, secret-level information that cannot leave this room. You three have been given approval to be read into the operation. If you leak this information you could face up to 10 years in federal prison. Is this understood?” Agent Ross took over the conversation. 

The detectives and the Chief nodded. Agent Adams handed out three packets of information, most of which is blacked out.

“Back in 2004, the Hell Hounds team went into Spain, with Spanish government approval, to remove a small terrorist from their country. They went in under the radar and without governmental protection. They went in with the target of Antonio Moreno. They tracked him to his home base and entered to take him out. The mission went wrong, Moreno escaped, and Moreno’s wife and daughter were taken out when they brought out weapons of their own. Since then Moreno was off the radar for years until last year, he threatened to release the secrets of this mission to the public unless the Hell Hounds team was disbanded. It ended up being in everyone’s best interest to do as he asked while we tracked him down. We tracked him to California a few months ago and have been making moves against him ever since. We lost sight of him a week ago, until today.”

“A terrorist has been loose in California for months? And you lost track of him a week ago and we’re just now hearing about this?” Carlton was livid.

“We couldn’t determine where he’d go and we couldn’t risk national security by alerting all of California to his presence, Detective.”

“You didn’t think that he’d go after the nearby member of the team he had disbanded?” Carlton instantly blamed the men in front of him for Shawn being in danger.

Juliet was confused how any of this had to do with Shawn.

“Detective.” The Chief used her stern voice, and Carlton stopped talking, but remained livid.

“We had our suspicions but didn’t think he’d make a direct attack so soon. We’ve been keeping an eye on Sergeant Spencer all week.”

“Wait, Sergeant Spencer?”

“Yes, Sergeant Shawn Spencer. He’s been working here as a psychic, I believe.” Sergeant Major Jensen stated.

Juliet didn’t know how to place Sergeant Spencer with the goofy, lovable Shawn Spencer she’d known for almost a year. She didn’t get long to think about this as she noticed Shawn and Cards enter the station. Sergeant Major Erickson motioned them to join them in the conference room.

The two of them entered the room and saluted their superiors.

“At ease.” SM Jensen said.

They both relaxed and crossed their arms behind their backs, in the at ease position.

“Sergeant Spencer, Master Sergeant Jackson. Nice of you to join us.”

“We came immediately after getting Sergeant Spencer’s head was stitched up, sir.”

“Good. You were both at the scene of the bombing, correct?”

“Yes, sir.” They answered in unison.

“Recap us on what happened.”

“We entered my apartment at around 19:40. I noticed a new object I didn’t recognize on my counter, so we went in guns drawn. I reached the foreign object and noticed it was a photo of Las- Detective Lassiter and me, with Detective Lassiter’s face crossed off. Master Sergeant Jackson then noticed a small black box under the photo, and we raced out of the apartment before the bomb could go off. It went off as we reached the hallway outside my apartment and knocked us into the wall. I blacked out.” Shawn began.

“I stayed conscious. One of the neighbors came out to inspect the noise. I told them to call 9-1-1 and evacuate the building. Then I carried Shawn out of the building. In minutes the fire department showed up.” Cards finished.

“Tell us about the black box,” Jensen said.

“It was about 4 by 5 by 2. It wasn’t meant to take down the building, just the target.” Cards answered.

“And tell us about this photo.”

“It’s a photo of Detective Lassiter and myself. We’re friends and it was captured while we were hanging out. Lassiter’s face was crossed out in red marker… I think he’s the next target, Sir.”

Shawn glanced over at Lassie to see how he’s taking the news, but his face was a blank mask.

Carlton was shocked to say the least, he didn’t think it’d be known how much they meant to each other. Now he was being used to hurt Shawn. He kept his face blank, not wanting to give away how much he wanted to take Shawn away and hide out until this was all over. He couldn’t give away their maybe relationship, not in front of Shawn’s superiors.

“That is how it looks. We’ll need to set up you and Detective Lassiter in a safehouse until this is all over.” Agent Adams decided.

“Yes, sir.”

“Absolutely not, I am not going to sit on the sidelines of this investigation.”

“Detective, your safety is on the line, you’ll do as they say.”

“But Chief-.”

“Detective.”

“Fine.”

“We’ll get you set up in a safehouse in the morning, for now you’ll stay at the station.” Agent Adams said.

“Yes, sir.”

Carlton nodded.

“The Hell Hounds would like to be in charge of security at the warehouse, sir.”

“Homeland will be handling security.”

“With all due respect, sir, we trust each other with our lives. We want someone we trust watching over Spencer. They’re already on their way, and this way they won’t interfere with the investigation.”

The Agents and SMs discussed this for a few moments.

“Fine, but you will coordinate your efforts with Homeland.” Agent Adams finally agreed.

“Yes, sir.”

“Now you three can leave, you can’t be involved in the investigation. Dismissed.” SM Erickson said.

Carlton, Shawn and Cards left the room. Carlton watched Shawn’s shoulder slump in exhaustion.

“The cells are empty tonight, you two can go rest there if you want.”

Shawn nodded. “Thanks, Lassie…I’m sorry you got dragged into my mess.”

“You don’t have to apologize, Shawn. It’s not your fault.” He hesitantly reached out and squeezed Shawn’s shoulder. “We’ll talk more after you get some sleep, okay?”

Shawn nodded and he and Cards headed towards the room of cells.

Carlton headed to his desk and sat down. He sighed, today had been a long day. First he had to deal with Goochberg, then his partner was attacked, and to top it all off the guy he loved was the target of a bombing. He was exhausted. But there was something he wanted to do before he got some rest for the night. He pulled out his cell phone and dialed his second speed dial.

“Carlton?”

“Hi, Victoria.”

“Are you okay? Its late.”

“I’m fine, I just needed to talk to you about something.”

“Okay, what?”

Carlton took a deep breath. “I want a divorce.”

“What?”

“I want a divorce.”

“Well this is sudden.”

“We’ve been separated for over 2 years, Victoria, it was only a matter of time.”

“You’ve just been so dead set on fixing us, I never expected this from you.”

“I’ve finally realized it’s a losing battle.”

“…is there someone else?”

Carlton considered lying, but went with the truth. “Yes.”

“…I’m happy for you Carlton.”

“Thank you. So you won’t fight it if I file for divorce?”

“No, Carlton, you’re right, it was only a matter of time.”

“Perfect, I’ll talk to my lawyers in a couple of days. I’ll talk to you soon, Victoria.”

“Goodbye, Carlton.”

* * *

_2005_

_“Carlton, I want a separation.”_

_“What?” Carlton looked up from the case file he was looking through._

_“I want a separation.”_

_“But, why?” To Carlton, this came out of nowhere._

_“Because we’re not happy, Carlton. We hardly talk, we haven’t had sex in months, and I barely see you anymore. You can’t be happy like this.”_

_Carlton had honestly not noticed. “With you, I’m always happy.”_

_“You can’t be serious. Our marriage is a mess. When we’re together we don’t talk, we just exist. This isn’t what I want in life. Carlton.”_

_“Okay.”_

_Victoria nodded and went to go pack her stuff. She was done in a few hours._

_“Goodbye, Carlton.” She kissed his cheek then left their home._

* * *

Shawn was woken a few hours after he fell asleep. Cards wanted to check on him and his concussion.

“You’re all good. Feel free to go back to sleep, I need to go coordinate with Homeland.”

Shawn nodded and dozed off again. He was woken up again several hours later.

“The safehouse is ready.” Cards said after shaking Shawn awake.

Shawn nodded and rubbed the sleep from his eyes. He stood and followed Cards into the rest of the station. Lassie and a homeland agent were waiting for them. They went outside and climbed into a few cars. It took them almost an hour to get to the safehouse, with all the sideroads and car changes they did.

The safehouse was a simple one-story house surrounded by trees on all sides. It was painted to blend into the scenery so as not to be seen from a distance.

Cards and the homeland agent climbed out first and did a sweep of the house before Shawn and Lassie were allowed out of the car. Then the two of them were escorted into the house. Inside was as simple as the outside. It was a little out of date but was kept up well. The kitchen had been stocked the night before, and their clothes would be brought by when the rest of the guys got there.

Lassie did his own sweep of the house out of habit, Shawn trusted Cards to have done it just fine.

“Alright, so we’ll be staying here until everything is settled, which could be awhile. So get used to the space. Snake Eyes’ plane lands within the hour, so he’ll be here first, followed by the others.” Cards informed them.

Shawn nodded. “Sweet.”

“I’ve got first shift, so I’ll be outside if you need me. The codeword to enter the house is “Platypus.” Don’t let anyone in that doesn’t know the codeword.”

“We know how this works, Cards. Quit worrying about us.” Shawn patted his brother on the back, before pushing him out the door.

“Oh and there’s weapons for you both in the first bedroom.” Then Cards was out the door.

Shawn turned away from the door and went to check out the first bedroom and the weapons. Lassie was already there. The weapons were just a few Glocks that they could stash around the house or carry on their person. They each carried a Glock and then hid the other three around the house – one in the kitchen, one in the living room and one in the hallway.

Shawn settled onto the couch and watched as Lassie walked through and checked out the house again. He could tell Lassie was frustrated with the situation and was likely to start pacing any second. When Lassie reentered the main room, Shawn reached out and grabbed Lassie’s arm. “Lassie, chill. We’re in good hands.”

“I don’t know any of those people out there.”

“But I do. I trust Cards with my life, so just trust me.”

Lassie looked into Shawn’s eyes, and Shawn saw that difference he noticed earlier. Lassie was looking at him with more love than Shawn had ever seen. What had changed?

Lassie nodded. “Okay.”

“Now sit down, because if you start pacing, you’ll drive me insane.” He let go of Lassie’s arm.

Carlton walked over and sat on the other side of the couch. He purposely left space between the two of them, unsure if closeness would be appreciated now that things had calmed down. He also needed space to tell Shawn about the divorce, afraid rejection would still follow.

Shawn looked over at Lassie and instantly knew Lassie had something he wanted to say, so he waited. They sat in silence for a few minutes before Lassie finally spoke up.

“I called Victoria.”

“Yeah?”

Carlton nodded. “I told her I wanted a divorce.”

“Really?” Inside, Shawn was thrilled and he finally understood the looks he’d been getting from Carlton. Carlton had finally chosen him. “Lassie, I’m so sorry. I know you loved her.”

“It was time, we’d just been postponing the inevitable.”

Shawn reached out and placed his hand on Lassie’s. “Doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt like hell to finally take that step.”

Carlton relaxed at Shawn’s touch. It meant there was a less chance of his rejection. Carlton nodded. It had hurt to place that call, but he knew Shawn meant more to him than Victoria ever could.

“I had to make a choice, and I did.” He turned his hand over and took Shawn’s hand in his.

Shawn smiled, relieved that he had read Carlton correctly.

After another minute of silence, Carlton spoke up again. “So what does this mean for us?”

Shawn’s smile fell a smidge. “You’re still married, Lass. There needs to be a finalized divorce before there is an us.”

Carlton nodded, sad to hear that.

“But for now,” he squeezed Lassie’s hand. “We’re friends. So tell me about your latest case, I heard a little. From what I could tell it was interesting.”

They spent the next hour or so exchanging stories. Carlton told Shawn about Goochberg and her antics and Shawn shared his side of O’Hara’s case. They were interrupted by a knock at the door.

Instantly, they were on their feet and armed, guns trained on the door. Shawn relaxed as soon as he heard a familiar voice say ‘Platypus.’ He tucked away his weapon and headed over to the door. Carlton stayed armed, not recognizing the voice and wanting to be able to keep Shawn safe from whoever was at the door.

Shawn smiled at the sight behind the door. “Snake!”

“Pineapples, look at you in one piece!”

Shawn pulled Snake Eyes into the safehouse and closed the door behind him, before pulling his brother in arms into a hug. “Man, it’s good to see you.”

“You too.” They ended the hug and Snake Eyes finally caught sight of Carlton. “Carlton Lassiter.” He offered his hand to the man and gripped it tightly when they shook, causing Carlton to hide a wince.

“Carly, this is Jordan “Snake Eyes” Stryker. Snake, you clearly know this is Carly.”

Snake let go of Carlton’s hand. Carlton looked over the man in front of him. He was taller than Shawn, but not as tall as Carlton. His skin was dark brown and he had dreads longer than the government required length.

“Nice to meet you, Stryker.”

“Wish I could say the same.”

Shawn elbowed his brother in the side. “Jordan.”

“Shawn it’s fine. I’m sure none of your team will be glad to see me because of our…history.” Carlton knew Shawn’s whole team probably hated him and would want to chew him out like Cards already did.

“Which is none of their business.”

“Of course it’s our business, Pineapples. We were the ones who had to pick up the pieces after he left you broken and distraught.”

“You know, I expected this from War but not you. What happened is in the past.”

“That’s not what Cards said when he found you reeking of liquor a few days ago.”

“We’re past that now, we’ve talked it out and things are good.”

“How are things good? You can’t possibly be thinking of getting back with this guy, Spencer. He left you without a word for some random chick, after 2 years together. He doesn’t deserve you.”

“You know what, we are not talking about this anymore. Why don’t you go out and help Cards with the perimeter. We’re clearly fine in here.”

Shawn quickly ushered his brother out of the house and closed the door behind him without a word. Shawn couldn’t believe Snake’s nerve, saying those things in front of Lassie.

Carlton walked over to Shawn who stood by the door, seething. He laid his hand on Shawn’s shoulder. “Shawn, it’s alright.”

“No, it’s not. He shouldn’t have said any of that. It’s none of his business what I do.”

“He cares about you. Your whole team does. They’re just looking out for you, something you’d do for them too.”

Shawn sighed, he had a point. He turned to his ex- current- not so boyfriend? “They’re going to try to convince me not to see you again, Lassie.”

“You don’t have to listen to them, Shawn, not if you don’t want to.”

“But what if they’re right?” Shawn looked up at Lassie. “Lassie, you broke my heart all those years ago…what’s to keep you from doing it again?”

Carlton hated the pain he saw in Shawn’s eyes at that moment. He stepped towards Shawn and laid his hands on the man’s cheeks. “I know this won’t mean much, but I promise that I won’t break your heart again. I love you, Shawn. More than I’ve ever loved Victoria or anyone else for that matter. I’ll do anything to prove that to you.”

Shawn looked into Carlton’s eyes and believed every word that the man said. He leaned up and pressed his lips to Carlton’s.

* * *

Snake walked out of the house and over to where Cards was scanning the perimeter. One glance at Snake and Cards knew something was up. “Jordan, what did you do?”

“I may have told Spencer off for considering getting back with that bastard.”

“Snake. We’re here to protect the both of them, not meddle in their business.”

“It’s our business too. We can’t let Pineapples set himself up for hurt like that again. He won’t be able to get through it again.”

“Spence is tough.”

“But is he tough enough to get his heart broken again by that bastard he’s in love with?”

“We can’t make Spence’s choices for him, Snake.”

“I know. When do Read and War get here?”

“They should be here in the next hour or so.”

Snake nodded and they split up to take up their posts.

* * *

Shawn kept the kiss brief, meaning what he said about nothing happening between them while Carly was still married. Shawn smiled up at Carlton. “I believe you.”

Carlton smiled back. His smile quickly turned into a yawn, he hadn’t slept in over 24 hours.

“Why don’t you go lay down, Lassie? Get some sleep.”

“Join me?”

“Lassie...”

“Just to sleep, Shawn.”

Shawn was reluctant, but the idea of laying down in Lassie’s arms was extremely appealing. “Okay.”

The two of them made their way into the first bedroom. Carlton removed his suit jacket and tie before laying down on the bed. Shawn quickly joined him and laid down with his head resting on Carlton’s chest. They were both asleep in moments.

* * *

War and Read arrived 2 hours later with clothes for Carlton and Shawn. They check in on Cards, made sure he’s okay like he claimed, before heading to the house. They knocked and said the password a few times before Shawn answered the door, looking like he just woke up.

War smiled. “Well good morning, sleeping beauty.”

Shawn rolled his eyes and let the two of them inside. He hugged them both before accepting the bags of clothes. He dropped them on the couch. “Nice of you two to finally show up.”

“We had to make a few stops on the way.” War and Read did a quick once over of the front room out of habit. “Where’s the asshole?”

Shawn sighed. “I am not having this conversation again, War. I get that you guys don’t like Carly, but he’s important to me. So you are just going to have to deal with that.”

“How can that bast-.” Read laid his hand on War’s shoulder to shut him up.

“We understand that, which is why we’re here to protect the both of you. We just want to finally meet the guy.”

Shawn shot War a dirty look before turning to Read. “Well he’s sleeping, you’ll have to meet him later.”

They nod. “How are you doing, ‘apples? We heard you got a few burns and stitches.”

“I’m fine, I’ve had worse. Just a concussion to deal with.”

“We’re glad you’re okay, Spencer.” War pushed his anger away at the situation. He cared for Shawn and was glad to see him in one piece.

“I really appreciate you guys coming out here to babysit me.” Shawn was glad to see his brothers again after so long, but he was not thrilled with sitting on the sidelines with nothing to do about the situation.

“We’re happy to do so.”

“Hopefully they’ll take down Moreno and we’ll get to go back to work.”

“What, the apple pie life not doing it for you, War?”

War smirked. “I love my wife, you know I do, but we’re about to kill each other with me being home all the time. Monica can’t wait to send me off again.”

“Well if you found something to do, you probably wouldn’t annoy the shit out of her so much.”

“Not everyone can start their own psychic detective agency, Pineapples. I tried construction for awhile, but man I couldn’t do it. I actually miss doing paperwork.”

“Well then you can do all my paperwork when we go back.”

“Nice try. Use those psychic powers of yours and see if that’ll actually happen.”

Shawn smirked and put his fingers to his head. “I’m seeing lots of paperwork in your future, War. Hope you’re ready for it.”

The soldiers laughed. “That seriously works on these people? How the hell does anyone believe you’re actually psychic?”

“I purposely don’t predict the future, I just use my hyper-observance to figure out what happened. It actually works quite well. I’ve solved a lot of cases.”

“Which you’ll have to tell us all about, later. We have to go protect you and your Lassie.” Read hugged Shawn again before he and War headed out to join the protection detail.

* * *

The next few days went by without incident. The Homeland agents switched out every 8 hours, all under Cards’ watch, and the Hell Hound men took turns sleeping in the extra room in the house, since Carlton and Shawn shared. Carlton and Shawn made food for the agents and soldiers, who took turn eating between shifts. War and Snake Eyes tended to ignore Carlton, while Read and Cards took time to try and get to know him a bit.

By the fourth day, Carlton and Shawn were both getting restless. Neither liked that there was a terrorist out there after them and there was nothing they were allowed to do about it. They also both hated that they had to be watched over, both feeling capable of protecting themselves.

That day, Shawn decided to let Carlton sleep in. The man had been stressing out over everything and Shawn felt he could use a few extra minutes sleep. Shawn slipped out of bed and turned off Carlton’s alarm. He headed to the kitchen and started breakfast and coffee. By 7am, food was ready and the men watching the property started taking their turns at grabbing food and taking a break.

Snake Eyes woke up to the smell of food and headed out to grab his share. From outside came Agents Matthews and Holland. Matthews headed down the hall to the bathroom, while Holland took a seat in the kitchen. Shawn dished out some food to Snake and Holland.

Matthews made sure he wasn’t seen before slipping into the first bedroom. He took out his gun and screwed on a silencer before walking over and shoving Carlton awake.

Carlton jolted awake. “Shawn?” He rolled over and tensed, seeing a gun trained on him by Agent Matthews. “Matthews?”

“Say another word and I’ll shoot. On your feet.”

Carlton climbed out of bed and got to his feet. He kept his hands visible to Matthews, not needing to give the man a reason to shoot.

“Out the window. Go.” Matthews kept his voice low and demanding.

Carlton scanned the room for a way out but found nothing except his gun on the nightstand. He’d never be able to grab it fast enough. He reluctantly headed for the window and opened it, trying to do so as loud as he could, but the window wasn’t loud enough to be heard over the chatter in the kitchen. He climbed out, followed by Matthews.

“Head north.” He pointed the right direction and followed Carlton.

They quickly came upon an agent watching the perimeter and Matthews shot him silently in the back of the head without hesitation.

Carlton walked and waited for his opportunity.

* * *

Shawn noticed Matthews had been gone awhile, but didn’t think much of it. He decided Carlton wouldn’t want to sleep forever, and went to go check on him around 7:30. He excused himself from the kitchen and went to check on Lassie. He tensed when he noticed the door cracked open, knowing he’d closed it when he left earlier. He snapped his fingers to get Snake’s attention and nodded towards the bedroom door, slipping his gun out of his waist band. Snake got to his feet, weapon ready and silently walked over to have Shawn’s back. They quietly entered the room, guns ready and immediately noticed Lassie gone and the window open.

“Check on Matthews.” Snake nodded and slipped back out of the room.

A few seconds later he called out. “He’s not here.”

“Fuck.”

Snake quickly headed towards the door to go notify Cards and turned to stop Shawn from going too. “You need to stay here.”

“Fuck that. It’s Lassie, I’m coming.”

“Spencer.”

“I’m coming, Jordan. That’s final.” He pushed past Snake and headed outside for the first time in days. He spotted Cards to his right and headed that way, followed by Snake and Agent Holland.

“Spence, what are you doing out of-.”

“Carly’s gone. So is Matthews.”

“How long?”

“Up to 35 minutes. They headed out the back window.”

Cards whistled, loud, and in moments the Hell Hounds team emerged from the trees. He couldn’t use the walkies, since Matthews likely still had his.

“Alright, Carlton is gone, likely taken by Agent Matthews. They could have 35 minutes on us, let’s go.” They all grabbed their weapons and headed around the house and into the trees. They stumbled upon the dead agent pretty quick and headed that direction.

They cruised through the trees, in their element, for several minutes. Shawn hid his emotions behind his military persona, unable to allow his emotions get the better of him. Though he was worried.

10 minutes into their search Cards heard a rustle up ahead and held up a hand. His men stopped instantly. He searched for the sound and pointed his gun. “Freeze or I’ll shoot!”

The target froze instantly. The men moved in formation, all guns trained on the target. It took a minute to get close enough to recognize the man.

“Lassie!” With a nod from Cards, Shawn broke formation and bolted to Carlton’s side. As he got closer he noticed Carly’s pale face, blood on his side, and a gun with a silencer in his hand. “Shit, Lassie. What happened?” He immediately moved to check out Carly’s side, gently lifting his shirt. He was thrilled to see it was just a bullet graze, though it likely still hurt like hell.

Lassie was tense with pain. “Matthews dragged me out of the house. He killed an agent and forced me to head north. Luckily he stepped too close and I was able to disarm him. Not before he got a shot off though.”

Cards sent Snake and War off to go find Matthews, while he and Read kept an eye on Carlton and Shawn.

“Luckily it’s just a graze. A few stitches and you’ll be fine, Lassie-frass.” Shawn gently let go of Carlton’s shirt and laid a hand on the man’s cheek.

Carlton nodded and leaned into Shawn’s touch. He looked into Shawn’s eyes and saw the relief in them. “What are you doing outside the house, Shawn?”

“Looking for my man, obviously. I wasn’t going to let some backstabbing agent take you without a fight, Carly.”

“There’s a terrorist out for your head, Shawn.”

“Who clearly hired Matthews to take you out. You’re a target too.”

“If he was just going to take me out, he would have done so in the house.”

Shawn nodded. He gave the whole situation some thought. “He left the window open…he wanted us to follow you. You were a distraction.”

He looked to Cards who had just realized the exact same thing. “We need to get back, now.”

They all heard rustling in the woods to the north. They all turned, weapons trained, Shawn stepping slightly in front of Carly. Out of the trees came Snake and War, unarmed, followed by 5 men with semi-automatic weapons trained on them all.

“I’d put those down if I were you.” Behind the 5 men, emerged Moreno. “We clearly came more prepared.”

The Hell Hound men had pea-shooters in comparison to the heavy weaponry carried by the mercenaries. With a nod from Cards, Read, Cards and Shawn put down their weapons. Carlton followed suit.

“Smart move. It’s so nice seeing the team all back together again, isn’t it? You military men are so predictable. Of course you’d come to protect your team members, putting you all in one convenient location.” Moreno smiled. “You really helped me out there.” He waved his hand and each of his mercenaries took a Hell Hound soldier, one of them forcing Shawn away from Carlton’s side. Moreno pulled out his own pistol and walked over to Carlton. “Alright, boys, lets get moving. We’re on a tight schedule.”

The mercenaries forced the soldiers back towards the house, weapons trained on their backs. Moreno and Carlton took up the rear. They walked in eerie silence. Even Moreno was silent, which was strange since this was when most villains spieled their evil plans. As they got closer to the house, they noticed each Homeland agent was dead that had been watching the perimeter. There went their backup.

The soldiers kept their eyes on their leader who was up front, waiting for a sign to move. They were trained in situations just like this and were ready to disarm at a moment’s notice.

The group reached the clearing around the house when Cards whistled. In unison, the soldiers turned and fought their captors for their weapons. It took less than a minute and several shots. In the end, each mercenary laid on the ground, dead. The Hell Hounds turned and pointed their weapons at Moreno. The only problem was Carlton was between them and their shot.

While the Hell Hounds disarmed the mercenaries, Moreno shoved his gun into Carlton’s back and used his other hand to put pressure on Carlton’s wound, leaving Carly to have dotted vision from the pain. Carlton wasn’t able to fight off his capture from the position he was in.

Moreno smiled at the Hell Hounds. He expected something like this to happen, which was why he took Carlton. He knew just how much the man meant to Shawn. Shawn had been the one to shoot his daughter and was his main target all along. Now he’d make him feel a similar pain to what he’d been feeling for years.

He shot Carlton in the back without hesitation. Once Carlton hit the ground, the Hell Hounds shot, filling Moreno with holes. Moreno hit the ground looking like bloody Swiss cheese.

Shawn ran to Carlton’s side immediately, while his brothers scoured the area for other mercenaries.

“Lassie!” He dropped to his knees and rolled Carlton over to see the wound, which was gushing blood. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!” He slipped off his own shirt and pressed it to the wound. “Lassie, don’t you leave me.”

Carlton had fallen unconscious seconds after being shot.

“Cards! We need a hospital!” Shawn barely kept his voice from shaking. He doesn’t think he’d been this scared in years, not since Cooper. He couldn’t lose Lassie now that he had him again.

The Hell Hounds returned a minute later. Cards quickly relayed orders.

“Read get the car. War, Snake carry Carlton to the car. Spence, don’t stop putting pressure on that wound.”

They all followed orders quickly and soon had Carlton in an SUV and on the way to the nearest hospital.

Shawn sat in the back with Lassie, keeping pressure on the wound. Cards and Read were in the front and War and Snake were following in another vehicle.

Cards got on the phone with Doc immediately to update him on the situation. Doc promised to send men out to the safe house to take care of the bodies. Agents would meet them at the hospital for protection until they confirmed the threat was gone.

Shawn’s hands shook as he watched the life physically leave Carlton’s body.

* * *

Several hours later, Shawn and his brothers sat in the hospital waiting room, surrounded by Homeland agents. Gus, Juliet and the Chief were there too.

Cards kept his arm wrapped around Shawn, which was the only thing keeping Shawn from getting up and pacing again. He’d paced for an hour before Cards forced the younger man to sit. Gus sat on Shawn’s other side.

Carlton was in surgery and none of them knew if he’d even have a chance. Back wounds were tricky, especially if it had hit vital organs, and were hard to diagnose without surgery. So they were all left in the dark.

A doctor came into the waiting room. “Family of Carlton Lassiter?”

Shawn, Juliet and the Chief were on their feet immediately. Shawn took a step forward, but Cards stopped him, he wasn’t family and had no authority in the hospital.

Juliet walked over and flashed her badge. “I’m his partner. What’s his status?”

“He was lucky, the bullet missed his spine, but caused severe damage to his large intestine. He coded on the table once, but we were able to resuscitate him. We were able to repair the damage the bullet caused, and if he makes it through the night, he should make a full recovery.”

Juliet let out a sigh of relief. “Okay, thank you. Can we see him?”

“We’re moving him into a room now, give us an hour to get him settled and a nurse will be out to let you in.”

Juliet nodded and the doctor left.

Shawn sat back down and let himself relax for the first time in hours. He closed his eyes and a tear of relief fell from his eye and down his cheek. He wiped it away. He leaned against Cards who rubbed his back.

An hour later, a nurse came out to lead them back to the room. Shawn stood up immediately and walked to Juliet’s side. Juliet reached out and squeezed Shawn’s hand. She knew Carlton was important to Shawn and could see the pain he was in. The two of them followed the nurse back to Carlton’s room.

The man was asleep and likely would stay asleep another hour or so.

Shawn walked over to his bedside and grabbed his hand. Juliet stayed back and gave them a moment.

“You’ll be out of here in no time, Lassie, and then I can kick your ass for getting shot on my watch.” He pulled up a chair and sat down, not letting go of his love’s hand.

Juliet walked over a minute later and grabbed Carlton’s other hand. “I’m glad you’re okay, partner.”

They were both still there awhile later when Carlton finally came to. He noticed Shawn first and smiled. “Shawn.”

Shawn smiled brightly and jumped to his feet. “Lassie!” He squeezed the man’s hand.

Carlton then noticed Juliet was holding his other hand. “O’Hara.”

“Hey, partner. It’s good to see you awake.”

“What happened?”

Shawn was the one to tell the story. “Moreno shot you in the back… Lassie, I’m so sorry you got dragged into my mess.” His voice was soft and regretful.

“Shut up, Shawn. You had no control over any of this.” Carlton squeezed Shawn’s hand.

“If I hadn’t come back to Santa Barbara, none of this would have happened.”

“And then none of the good work you’ve done this past year would have happened either, Shawn. Like Carlton said, you had no control over any of this.” Juliet pointed out.

Shawn didn’t want to listen to either of them, instead wanting to blame himself for Carlton getting shot. But he knew they were right. Shawn nodded.

They chatted with Carlton a little while longer before the man drifted off to sleep.

The two of them took their seats again.

“So, tell me about you and the military.” Juliet smiled over at Shawn. She still didn’t quite believe it, but wanted to see more of that side of Shawn. She thought the military was very impressive.

“Well, I joined when I was 18.”

* * *

By the next morning, Shawn was still at Carlton’s side. Carlton had woken up a few times throughout the evening and night, and Shawn had wanted to be there each and every time. Juliet had pulled some strings for him, so that he could stay after visiting hours, for which he was extremely grateful.

Around 8:00am, Cards entered the room to check on Shawn. He came in to see Shawn asleep, his head resting on the bed and still holding Carlton’s hand. He quietly walked over and gently shook Shawn awake.

“Shawn, wake up. Doc is going to be here within the hour.”

Shawn sat up and yawned. “Why is Doc coming?”

“He’s taking all our statements…You need to be Carlton’s friend, not his boyfriend, by the time he gets here.”

Shawn sighed. “Right. Thanks for the heads up.”

“Of course. I brought you some clothes, thought you could hop in the shower before he got here. Not look like you’ve been here all night.”

“Thanks, Cards.” Shawn stands and reluctantly lets go of Carlton’s hand.

“Also…Doc says we will need to report to Washington by the end of the week.”

“What? So soon? That’s only three days!”

“I know. The guys are heading home in a few hours to say goodbye to their families. They need our reports on everything that’s happened and want us to return to active duty immediately.”

“…I have a life here, Cards.”

Cards smiled sadly. “I know, Spence, and Doc said we have the option of retirement instead of returning. You can choose that if you want, but the rest of us are headed back.”

Shawn sighed. “I don’t want to retire.”

“Then you have three days to wrap everything up here.”

Shawn glanced at Lassie. He wouldn’t even be out of the hospital by then, much less divorced. Shawn was going to have to leave him without their relationship established. What if Lassie changed his mind when he realized Shawn wasn’t going to be around all the time?

“Everything will be okay, Spence. I’ve seen how he looks at you. I don’t think you have anything to worry about.”

Shawn nodded. “Thanks, Cards.”

Cards nodded and left the room.

Shawn stared at Carlton for a little longer before he forced his worries away and headed off to shower.

* * *

Shawn only left Carlton’s room long enough to give his statement to Doc before he immediately returned to Carlton’s side. He smiled when he noticed Carly was awake.

“Hey, Lassie.”

“Hey, Shawn.”

Shawn sat down next to Carlton and grabbed the man’s hand. “Sorry I wasn’t here when you woke up, I had to give my statement to Doc.”

“It’s fine. I don’t expect you to be by my side 24/7.”

“Well I plan to be, so get used to me.”

Carlton smiled. “I think I can do that.”

Shawn smiled, before it faltered some when he remembered he’d be leaving in a few days.

Carlton noticed. “What’s wrong?”

“The terrorist threat is gone.”

“That’s great, Shawn.”

“Which means we can return to active duty.”

Carlton caught on immediately. “When do you leave?”

“Friday.”

Carlton nodded. “How long will you be gone for?”

“Likely a couple months.”

“What will you do about Psych?”

Shawn shrugged. “I haven’t given it much thought… I hope to still help with cases when I’m visiting…if the Chief will still let me now that she knows my background is a bunch of crap.”

“She’ll likely just expect you to act more mature now that she knows you’re actually responsible.”

“I’m not responsible. Don’t go telling people that.”

Carlton smiled. “I won’t tell people that, on one condition.”

“And what’s that?”

“You come back as soon as you can.”

Shawn smiled. “Deal.” He leaned up and kissed Carlton’s cheek.

* * *

Juliet decided to visit Carlton before she headed into work. She was allowed to show up late today after such a long day in the hospital yesterday. She headed to the room and noticed Shawn was still there, not that she was surprised. What did surprise her was when Shawn leaned up and kissed Carlton’s cheek, and Carlton smiled instead of protested. Interesting. Clearly there was more to their relationship than just friends. She decided to give them some space and left. She’d visit after her shift.

* * *

Thursday morning, Shawn finally left Carlton’s side to go meet Gus for breakfast. Gus still didn’t know he’d be leaving. He got there early and waited at a table for Gus to arrive, nervous to tell his best friend.

Gus arrived right on time and sat down across from Shawn. “What’s wrong?”

“Why do you think something’s wrong?”

“You’re early. You’re only early when you’re nervous. What’s wrong?”

“The Hell Hounds are returning to active duty.”

“Oh.” Gus picked up the menu and didn’t say anything else until after the two of them ordered their food. “When do you leave?”

“Tomorrow morning.”

“How long have you known?”

“Since Tuesday.”

“And you’re only telling me now?”

“…I didn’t know how to tell you. How do you tell your best friend that you’ll be leaving and only visiting every couple of months?”

“Exactly like that, Shawn. You just say it.”

“I didn’t want to upset you.”

“You’ve upset me by not telling me until the last minute.”

“Right.”

“What about Psych?”

“I plan to still pay the rent for the office with my paycheck, and I hope we can work cases when I come back to visit.”

Gus nodded. “I can’t promise I’ll be available for cases when you visit. I do have a job.”

“I know.”

“You also don’t know if there will be cases available for us when you visit. They may not need your help.”

“I know, Gus. But I can always hope.”

There food is brought out by a waitress. They both dig in.

“When will you be back?”

“Hopefully in a couple months.”

Gus nodded.

* * *

On Friday, Shawn left Gus in the hospital parking lot and headed inside. He headed up to Lassie’s room and was glad to see no other visitors. He knocked and headed inside, smiling at Lassie. Carlton smiled back.

Shawn walked over and grabbed his love’s hand.

“Come to say goodbye?”

Shawn nodded. “Gus is waiting for me to take me to the airport…I’ll miss you, Carly.”

“You’ll be back soon, and I’ll still be here, waiting.”

“You better be.”

“I promise.”

Shawn leaned down and kissed Carlton on the lips. He kept it brief, otherwise he didn’t know if he’d be able to leave. “I’ll email you as often as I can.”

Carlton nodded. “I love you, Shawn.”

“I love you too, Carly.” He kissed Carlton’s forehead before leaving the room and then the hospital.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry this chapter took so long! It was a doozy! Let me know what you think, I love hearing from you guys!


	10. Psy vs. Psy

_May 10, 2007_

_Lassie: I officially filed for divorce today. Just waiting on Victoria’s signatures. I’m doing alright, it’s been hard but I don’t regret a thing. Can’t wait for you to come home._

_May 11, 2007_

_Shawn: I’m sorry you’re going through this alone, Lassie. Wish I was there for you. How’s physical therapy going?_

_May 15, 2007_

_Lassie: It’s fine. I’ll be back on duty in a few weeks. I have nothing to do when I’m not at work. O’Hara wanted me to tell you that she’s working a case on American Duos. Said you’d find it interesting. She said you could reach out to her for more details._

_May 20, 2007_

_Shawn: American Duos? Gus and I love that show. Totally wish I was there to help! I’ll definitely reach out to her. How many times have you rewatched Cops while on leave? You on your second go around?_

_May 21, 2007_

_Lassie: I’m still on my first watch, thank you. I’ve been catching up on a lot of paperwork. O’Hara also visits me a few times a week. Bringing food and movies I should watch. How’s the team?_

_May 22, 2007_

_Shawn: The boys are good. Still against me getting back together with you, but they’ll get over it. We leave for a mission tomorrow, so I’ll be out of touch for several weeks. You will likely be back at work by the time you hear from me again. I love you, Carly, I’ll reach out as soon as I can._

_June 15, 2007_

_Lassie: The divorce is final. I can’t wait for you to come home. Stay safe, Shawn._

* * *

Shawn’s leg bounced up and down as he rode in Cards’ truck, on his way to the airport. Cards was kind enough to drive him since he left his motorcycle in Santa Barbara when they left a few months ago.

“What’s got you so nervous?”

Shawn glanced over at Cards. “Just nervous to see Lassie, his divorce is finalized. Meaning we can officially start over…and I didn’t tell him I was coming back today.”

“Spence, the last time you didn’t tell him you were coming back-.”

“I know, but this time it’s different. You said it yourself, I have nothing to worry about.”

“You’re right.” They pulled into the airport and into the drop off lane. “Good luck, Spence, I hope everything works out.”

“Thanks, Cards. Me too. I’ll see you in two weeks.” Shawn hopped out of the truck and grabbed his bag. He headed inside the airport.

* * *

Shawn got a ride with Gus from the airport. They stopped for dinner before Gus dropped him off at Lassie’s home. Shawn took a deep breath before heading up the steps and knocking on Lassie’s front door.

Lassie answered the door, gun behind his leg. He smiled when he saw Shawn.

“Hey, Lassie.” Shawn smiled brightly.

Carlton let Shawn in and stowed his gun, before he pulled Shawn into a kiss. Shawn kissed him back immediately, having no more reservations since Lassie’s officially divorced. The kisses deepened quickly, tongue was added and soon the two of them were headed towards the bedroom. Shirts were lost in the hallway and shoes kicked off just inside the bedroom. They fell onto the bed and Carlton trailed kisses down Shawn’s jaw, to his neck and down to his chest.

Shawn knew this felt familiar and couldn’t stop himself from glancing over at the dresser. He sighed in relief when he didn’t see a wedding ring. He returned his focus to Lassie. He moaned when Lassie took one of his nipples into his mouth. He let himself lose himself in the bliss.

* * *

Shawn and Carlton laid in bed together, Shawn’s head resting on Carlton’s chest. Carlton rubbed Shawn’s back and held him close.

“Where does this leave us, Shawn?”

“I’d like it to mean we’re together again.”

“I’d like that.”

“But I think we should label it this time, so there’s no misunderstandings…boyfriends?”

“Works for me.” He kissed the top of Shawn’s head. He was thrilled to be able to call Shawn his own again.

“But we have to be careful who we tell about us…if for some reason my superiors find out…”

“We’ll be careful. Just like we’ve always been…I need to tell O’Hara. There can’t be secrets between partners.”

Shawn nodded, he completely understood. There were no secrets between him and his team either. “Definitely.”

“I’m glad you’re back.”

“Me too, Lassie, me too.”

* * *

The next morning, Carlton slipped out of bed, careful not to wake up Shawn. He quietly got dressed and headed off to work, grabbing breakfast at the coffee shop close to the department. In his early greetings to O’Hara, he made sure to mention that Spencer was back in town, knowing she’d let the Chief know. This way, if there were any cases, she could call on Shawn if she wanted.

Turned out that was going to be sooner rather than later. He and O’Hara were called into the Chief’s office and given a quick run down on the upcoming case. They’d be working with a Federal Agent on a counterfeiting case, and the Chief wanted them to not be shown up on their own turf. She shot Carlton a look and told him that just because they were impressive, didn’t mean they should fawn over them. Which Carlton took slight offense to, but knew he tended to lose his head around superior Agents. He merely thought they were super impressive, and he had always wanted to be one as a kid.

A few minutes after their briefing, a highly attractive man in a tailored black suit entered the office, and Carlton had to keep from staring, though O’Hara didn’t seem to get that memo. Following the man was Gus and Shawn, who looked particularly ruffled, probably by the Agent. He and Shawn shared a small smile before they all got down to business.

“I’m Special Agent Lars Ewing with the FTD.”

“Ooh, Federal Treasury Department.” O’Hara interjected.

Agent Ewing looked over and smiled at O’Hara. “Very good…”

“Detective Juliet O’Hara.” She held out her hand and they shook hands before Ewing turned to Carlton.

“Head Detective Carlton Lassiter.” They shook hands as well and Carlton noticed the quick once over the Agent gave him, which surprised him. If he noticed, Shawn definitely did. He glanced over at Shawn and saw the irritation on his face.

“Thank you for coming, Special Agent Ewing.”

Ewing nodded to Chief Vick.

“And these are our consultants Burton Guster and Sergeant Shawn Spencer, our resident psychic.”

Carlton noticed Shawn was taken by surprise, hearing his full title. “Shawn will be just fine, Chief. No need for titles.”

The Chief nodded.

They all noticed the shock on Ewing’s face to hear that Shawn was a Sergeant. “What branch?”

“Army Special Forces.” Shawn looked uncomfortable with the sudden attention, which was weird since he was always making himself the center of attention. But Carlton knew Shawn liked being the center of attention for his antics, not his achievements.

Ewing took that in before turning back to the Chief. “I’m here because we’ve been tracking an aggressive forger who's been counterfeiting large numbers of $100 bills and then laundering the money into small communities across the country. The last being a Home Depot right here in the heart of your little hamlet. Now, could you gentlemen please state your name once again? And please speak clearly.” Ewing brought out a small device, turned it on and set it on the desk.

“Is that a recording device? Government issued?” Carlton was always intrigued by the gadgets that Federal Agents always seemed to have.

“Asking if that is a recording device is like asking if this,” Ewing pulled out a pen from his inside pocket, “is a pen.”

“Is it a pen?” O’Hara asked.

“That's classified.” Carlton noticed Shawn roll his eyes. Ewing mouthed to him that it was indeed a pen. Carlton smiled.

“It's tiny. Probably can't hold much.” Gus said.

“Oh, that's not a tape recorder. That is a high-tech microphone system attached to a Mildred.”

“A Mildred? What's, what's a Mildred?” O’Hara asked.

“I believe it's an intelligence-gathering device. "Mildred" is probably an anagram. Military Intel Listening Device Recorder... something.” Carlton was at a loss for what the D would stand for. Ewing seemed amused by his guessing.

“Mildred is not a device. She's my stenographer.” Ewing motioned outside to where Mildred was sitting and typing their ever word.

“You have your own stenographer?”

“I am hyper-careful. Can't take any chances. Saved my behind more than once in making cases stick past deposition.”

Carlton was impressed. “Brilliant. Chief?”

Chief Vick was not amused. “Not happening. Now what I need from all of you is your full cooperation in assisting Special Agent Ewing in any way he sees fit. Now, any questions?”

“I have a question for Special.”

“Now, Sergeant, while I’m sure your credentials are impressive, I won’t be needing your help. We already have our own psychic. She's just started in the department and she is already a superstar. Got us so close to the counterfeiter a month ago in Wilmette, Illinois. We must have missed him by only a few minutes.”

In walked a beautiful young lady, and Shawn immediately was uncomfortable. Carlton knew it was because another psychic could cause major issues for Shawn, since he was a fraud. But Carlton knew psychics didn’t exist, so this lady was likely a fraud as well. Hopefully she wouldn’t cause too much trouble for Shawn.

“Sergeant Spencer, Lindsay Leikin.” Shawn reluctantly shook the woman’s hand. She gave Shawn a once over, and Carlton felt the same irritation Shawn must have felt earlier.

“You may have your own psychic, Special Agent Ewing, but we’d like to bring ours along too. Two psychics are better than one.”

Ewing nodded, though he didn’t look thrilled at the idea.

“Let's adjourn this meeting. I know Special Agent Ewing has prepared informational packets for all of you. We will meet at the Home Depot tomorrow.”

“Let's say... 0700 hours.”

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Let me set up the conference room for you both.” The Chief led the way out of her office, followed by Special Agent Ewing. Carlton and O’Hara headed towards their desks where their informational packets were already waiting. They both sat down and started reviewing the information.

A few minutes later, Shawn, Gus and Leiken left the Chief’s office. Leiken headed for the conference room, while Shawn and Gus headed over to Carlton’s desk. Carlton looked up at them and kept his voice low.

“Is she going to be a problem?”

Shawn shrugged. “She shouldn’t be. I just have to figure out how she works and then everything should be fine. Don’t worry, Lassie-frass, she can’t be a better psychic than me.” Shawn winked at his boyfriend.

“Right, just be careful Shawn. The Chief doesn’t want them to show us up, so there’s a lot of pressure riding on this case. She’ll be expecting a lot from you.”

“I can handle a little pressure.”

Carlton smiled. “Oh, I know.”

Shawn smiled back, while Gus made a disgusted noise and walked off to talk to O’Hara. “You did that just to get rid of Gus.”

Carlton shrugged. “Maybe.”

“I don’t like them.”

“Who? Leiken and Ewing?”

“Yeah. Leiken is a fraud and Ewing was totally checking you out.”

“And Leiken was definitely checking you out.”

“Jealous, Carly?”

“Only as jealous as you are.”

“Okay, fair. He’s just totally your type. You’ve always had a thing for Feds.”

“But I also have a thing for the military type, don’t forget that.”

Shawn nodded. Carlton stood to go get some coffee and let his hand brush against Shawn’s arm as he walked past. He physically felt Shawn relax under his brief touch. Good. He didn’t need Shawn worrying when they had a case to solve.

* * *

When Carlton got home that night, Shawn had the informational packet spread out over the living room. He smiled; he loved seeing Shawn in his home when he got back from work. It was comforting.

Shawn looked over and smiled at Carlton. “Hey, Lassie. How was work?”

“It was fine, spent the day finishing up some paperwork and looking over the federal information packet. Find anything useful?”

“Not really. I’ll have to get a read of the situation tomorrow. There’s nothing in here about the “visions” Leiken had that led them to the counterfeiter. I’ll have to see how she works.”

Carlton nodded and sat down on the couch next to Shawn. Shawn leaned against Carlton and the taller man wrapped his arm around his boyfriend. “This’ll definitely be an interesting case.”

“Agreed.”

As they were getting settled to watch some TV, and Shawn was telling Carlton about his latest purchase of an Easy Bake Oven, Carlton’s phone rang. He dug it out of his pocket and sighed. He ignored the call.

“Who was it?”

“Ewing. This is the fourth time he’s called me today.”

Shawn did not look thrilled with that news.

“He keeps wanting to go over the case, and also seems to want to get to know me? He asks random personal questions.”

“That guy is totally into you.”

“Well if he is, its annoying. How he’s not getting the hint that I’m not interested, I have no idea. I swear the guy tried to smell me earlier at the station.”

“Maybe I need to make it clear you’re not available.” Shawn moved and straddled Carlton’s lap.

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“Maybe I need to mark my territory.” To make his point he leaned down and nipped at Carlton’s neck.

Carlton smiled. “I think that might just be a decent idea.” He pulled Shawn into a deep kiss.

* * *

Around 2am, Shawn was woken up by a phone ringing. He reached over to the bedside table, picked up the cell phone and answered it. “Spencer.”

“Spencer? What are you doing answering Lassiter’s phone-.” Shawn recognized Ewing’s voice and hung up. He set the phone back down and rolled over. He curled up in Carlton’s waiting arms.

“Who was it?”

“Ewing, your phone must have ended up on my side last night. We’ll deal with Ewing tomorrow.”

Carlton was too tired to even worry what Ewing would do with the information that Shawn was at his place this late. He just drifted off back to sleep.”

* * *

The next morning at 0700, they all met outside of the Home Depot. While the Chief was talking, Shawn overheard Ewing berating Leiken for not being on time to their meeting this morning. They headed inside and Ewing quickly started to chew out the guy at the counter. There was no way the guy would have been able to know the one-hundred-dollar bill was fake; Shawn had taken a look at it the night before and he barely noticed it was a forgery. The work was phenomenal. He got bored of watching the interaction, so he and Gus headed off to do something productive.

Shawn noticed the security cameras as soon as he entered the store and led Gus towards the camera room. On their way they ran into Henry, who claimed that Shawn owed him and was to come by to work on a project later today. Shawn brushed off the encounter and focused on the case at hand.

He and Gus entered the camera room.

“Hello, Garrison. We're working on the counterfeiting case. And we need to see all of yesterday's security footage.”

“How do you know my name's Garrison?”

Shawn was caught off guard by the response. He mumbled to Gus. “You thought this was gonna be a problem?” He turned back to Garrison. “I'm sorry, man. I... I didn't mean to freak you out. My name is Shawn Spencer. I'm a psychic with the police department.”

“There was already a psychic here last night. From Washington, no less. She looked at all the tapes and there was no positive ID. And she's good. She also knew my name was Garrison.”

Shawn needed to see those tapes, to know what Leiken knew. “Uh, you mind if I take a peek anyway? I work a little differently than her. My process is a little more complex. I can sometimes pick up images that are underneath the... epidermal layer.”

“Here it is. This is the tape of the counterfeiter that she looked at last night. You know, honestly, if that pretty lady psychic couldn't pick up anything, I can't imagine you're gonna have much luck.”

Shawn looked at the video and noticed the guy avoided being seen by every camera. He wasn’t able to see a single facial feature, though he could tell the guy didn’t wear glasses. He noticed the key of the car the guy drove, a Nissan, but that wasn’t much. “You know what, you're probably right. We gave it a shot. Thanks, Garrison.”

They headed back to the others, finding that they were still interrogating the guy.

“Tall? Short? Age? Race?” Juliet asked.

Shawn noticed that Ewing now stood next to Carlton, not Juliet. Interesting.

“Do you mean to tell me that the only thing you can remember clearly is that he was a man?”

Shawn watched as Ewing leaned close to Carlton and breathed in his scent. Carlton didn’t seem to notice but Shawn was not happy. He thought that after he’d answered the phone last night, that maybe the guy’d catch a hint. Apparently not.

“And technically, I can't even be sure of that, now, can I?”

Shawn decided to make his presence known. “Wait. I'm getting something. He... did not wear corrective lenses.” He watched as Leiken rolled her eyes. Like she knew any more than he did.

“Actually, that is true.”

The Chief was thrilled. “Okay, well, that's something to go on. Good work, Mr. Spencer.”

“Great... and so we're looking for someone in Santa Barbara who does not wear glasses.” Shawn looked at Lassie, surprised at his comment. He had a point, but it was all Shawn had for now.

Leiken decided to speak up. “He... He had a small scar...about three inches, on the jaw line. And... he wore a single stud diamond in his left ear.”

“Yes. And yes. She's exactly right. I can see that clearly now.”

How the hell could she possible know that…unless she’d seen the guy before. Because the footage didn’t reveal any of that.

“That's why she's the best.” Ewing smirked and led the way outside, brushing into Carly when he passed.

“…what the hell just happened?” Shawn turned to Gus who shrugged.

They followed everyone out of the Home Depot and Shawn made sure to catch up to Lassie at his car. He informed him about the counterfeiter’s car before letting Lassie return to the station. He had to go deal with his dad.

* * *

They stopped for breakfast on the way to Shawn’s dad, and Carlton called him as they were arriving at his dad’s place. Apparently, the only Nissan worth noting in the parking lot didn’t have any plates, so there was no lead there.

The two of them worked on the wet bar for about an hour, discussing the case a bit as they worked. As they were talking, they came up with a lead – the best car dealership that the guy could trade out his car for with cash without drawing attention to himself.

They headed out immediately. The wet bar could wait. As they were headed that way, Shawn noticed he had a missed call from Lassie. He must not have heard it while they were working. He listened to the voicemail and sighed. They were already going to be there.

* * *

They arrived at the car dealership to see a very arrogant Leiken in the display hall, waiting for them. “Look who finally figured it out. Little late.”

In the office, the rest of the team and Ewing looked over and noticed them as well. The Chief did not look thrilled. She, Carlton, and Juliet walked over to catch them up on what had been going on.

“Apparently our guy came in here, bought a used Lamborghini for $47,000 in cash.

“Next day, he tries to return it. All sales are final, but the sales manager makes a concession, offering mere $26,000 in cash.”

Oh this guy was smart. Shawn was impressed.

“He accepts it? What kind of idiot is this guy?” Gus asked.

“A genius idiot, according to the feds.” The Chief said.

“You see, those familiar with this sort of thing know that it's the classic grift. Essentially, he traded 47 Gs of worthless paper for $26,000 in cold, hard cash.” Lassie said.

“Any witnesses?” Gus asked.

Juliet was the one to answer. “No, but a Lamborghini was spotted outside of town in Goleta, but it was moving too fast to make an ID.”

Goleta? He’d have to keep that in mind. Just then Ewing and Leiken walked back over and Shawn noticed Lassie checking out Ewing’s suit. He couldn’t wait for this guy to be gone.

“Hey, what color is that suit?”

“Black.”

“Really? It seems blacker than black.”

“It's Washington black.” Ewing smirked, liking Carlton’s interest. “Look, if anyone wants to join me, I'm going to be taking a look at some of the bills from the safe that didn't get deposited.” Ewing brushed arms with Lassie and the two of them led the others back to the office.

Now Shawn had to get on Leiken’s good side, or he’d always be behind on this case at this rate. He stopped Leiken from following.

“Look, Leikin, I think it's possible that we got off on the wrong foot.” Their bickering in the office when they first met was definitely not a good start for them.

“Is that right?”

“Yeah, I mean, this is silly. We should join forces like Pitt and Jolie, you know? Work together, make it nice for everyone.”

“I don't think you get it. I have nothing to gain here. If you haven't noticed, my job is safe. It's you I'm worried about, faker.” Man this girl grated on his nerves.

“In that case, maybe we should-.”

“I'm seeing somebody.”

“Okay, well-.”

“Serious? Yes.”

“You didn't know I was gonna-.”

“Yes, I did.” She walked off into the office.

She was definitely not psychic if she really thought he was interested. He had his Lassie, he didn’t need some fake psychic in his life.

He followed everyone into the office and tried to figure out what they were discussing. He shuffled his way into the room and behind everyone, trying to get a glance at the dollar bill.

“These are good. But they're not great. You see how on this bill, the edge of the nose on Ben Franklin's cloudy? Did you get that, Mildred?”

Shawn caught a glimpse of the dollar bill in Ewing’s right hand and saw the 100 on the bill shifting colors in the light. He walked back over to Gus, who knew money way better than he did. “Hey, is there any reason a $100 bill would change colors?”

“Actually, yes. It's an effect caused by color-shifting ink. It's only present in $100 bills. The changing color is called color diffraction. And it's made possible when light reflects off of metallic flakes added to the ink.”

Shawn glanced down again and quickly memorized the number on the dollar bill that changed colors. It was likely real. “Good work, Gus.” He held out his fist to his best friend.

Gus tapped his fist. “Thank you.”

After that everyone else filed out and headed back to the station. Shawn didn’t get a chance to stop Lassie and tell him about the real dollar, so he decided to reveal it later in a vision. On their way back to the station, he and Gus stopped for a little snack so they entered the conference room and the meeting had already started.

“So we'll check the information that Ms. Leikin's gathered for us...”

“Sorry we’re late guys, if Gus doesn’t have his midafternoon snack he gets a little grumpy.” The two of them sat down and quickly noticed the looks that were being thrown their way. They weren’t welcome.

“Shawn. I think we're not welcomed here.”

“Gus, don't be a paranoid schizophrenic. We're always welcome here.”

“No, look.”

Shawn took another look around, seeing what he already saw. Jules wouldn’t look his way, Lassie’s face showed he wasn’t happy with the decision to block them out but had no say in the matter, and the Chief’s face was blatantly saying they weren’t welcome at all.

“Oh, my God. We're not welcome.”

“It's nothing personal, Mr. Spencer. Special Agent Ewing just feels that Ms. Leiken has things covered on the psychic front. And I have to agree with him.”

And there Leiken sat, completely proud of herself that he was being kicked out.

“Okay. Take a hint. Certainly don't need to be told twice.”

“I think you were just told three times.” Not helpful Gus.

“You know what, this is fine, because we had a good run. Thank you for the memories. Oh, just one more thing.” Something he knew Leiken had missed. Maybe he could finally wipe that smug look off her face. “You might want to check the cash from the dealership, because it's not all counterfeit.”

“That's ridiculous. If I had learned how to laugh as a child, I would right now. I looked at all those bills myself. Do you really want to go against the leading special agent in counterfeiting with 14 years of experience under his belt and say that those bills weren't fake?”

Well Ewing was sure full of himself. It almost reminded him of Lassie, but as a much more annoying version.

“Not all of them. Just one. And I believe the serial number was...ALD... 975... 7080... 7... 7!” Shawn then led the way out of the conference room. Ewing would check and follow them shortly.

“Where are we going? Shouldn't we have stayed until they checked the bills out?”

Shawn held up a hand. “Wait for it. Wait for it…”

“Spencer. Hold up.” Lassie marched out of the conference room and over to them. He had a proud smile on his face briefly before he hid it.

“The bill checked out. It's real.” Jules said.

Ewing walked right up to Shawn, furious for sure. “All right. Answer me this, Mr. Psychic. Why would a counterfeiter ever use real bills?”

Well that was obvious, wasn’t it? “Because he had to. Man... I read your informational packet cover to cover.” Several times. “Our guy spends six to eight days in every city... we're only on day four. Quite simply, he ran out of dough. He didn't know what kind of deal he'd be able to make on the car. Turns out, short one bill.”

“Lucky for us.” Gus added.

“So what's our next move?” The Chief asked.

“Well, I'll call Washington and begin...” Ewing was interrupted.

“I'm sorry, I was asking Mr. Spencer.”

What a shock. “Oh... oh, you want to know what I think his next move is. Oh, Gus, look, she wants...Well, let's see here. He's gotta print more money. My guess is he, uh, set up shop here in town. So... we find his little nest, we find him.”

* * *

For the rest of the day, Shawn followed a few leads he had, but came up with nothing. They hoped the cops would have more luck, but the few phone calls he’d had with Lassie proved otherwise. Lassie said he’d be working late, so Shawn decided to spend the evening with Gus in the Psych office.

“Well, buddy...I really hope you like this. It took me 19 hours to bake. Put it in last night before bed.”

“It takes 19 hours to bake a pineapple upside-down cake?”

“It does when it's being heated by a 60-watt bulb.” He set the cake down on a plate and handed it to Gus.

“It's not upside down, Shawn.” They heard a knocking at the main door. “Who could that be at this hour?”

They waited and in walked Leiken, someone neither of them wanted to see.

“Are you gonna invite me in?”

“Eh...” Gus sat down at his desk.

“Uh... I guess.” Shawn shrugged.

“So this is what a psychic detective office looks like. You know, I always imagined it-. Does something smell like pineapple?” She made a disgusted look and Shawn took offense. Pineapple was the best scent in the world.

“Pineapple upside-down cake. Would you like some? Wait. Before you answer that, are you a fan of delicious flavor?” Shawn and Gus smiled.

“All right, look. This isn't easy for me to say, but...I was wrong. You're better than I thought. Your discovery at the station today was a huge get. I think we should work together after all. The faster we find out where the counterfeiter's den is, the better. That is, if you guys are willing.”

This was the perfect opportunity for Shawn to find out what Leiken knew. She seemed to know a lot for a fake psychic, making her extremely suspicious. Like she knew more than one should without having met the counterfeiter. Shawn definitely needed to find out what was up with her.

“I don't know. Depends. Don't you think, Gus?”

They ended up sitting in a circle to see what readings the two “psychics” could get.

Shawn decided to start with the basics. He put his fingers to his temples. “Wait. I'm definitely getting something. Oh, this is good. It's a... it's a...it's a transient location. Uh, where people can come and go anonymously, paying in cash. And... and it's remote, so they can print large sums of money on a noisy printer without being heard.”

“Yes... yes, I'm getting that same thing.”

Of course she was. “Yes?”

“And I see it.”

“Yes?”

“It's by a body of water.”

By a body of water? That was random. Why did she go with that? Shawn didn’t have any reason to think that specific fact. Had she been wherever this was before? “Really? It's by a body of water? Leikin, that's amateur stuff. You know what, I might expect that from John Edwards. Definitely from Miss Cleo. But not from you. Leikin...”

“Wait. I'm also... I'm also getting something in French. A sign, maybe? Could it be a European hotel?”

Where was she getting her information? Psychics don’t exist, she had to know more than she was letting on.

“Wait a minute. She may be on to something. I know this particular hotel. It's on my sales route. On a private beach-.” Gus was interrupted.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa.”

“What?”

“It's just... it's strange. I'm pretty familiar with your route, Gus. I don't recall any private beaches with hotels on them.”

“What are you talking about, Shawn?”

It was fun messing with Gus. “Where was it you went last summer for the Pips autograph signing convention?”

“You met Gladys Knight?” Leiken was intrigued.

“No.”

“Just the Pips.”

“Actually, a Pip. The other two got stuck in traffic. Look, I don't want to talk about it. The point is, it's been under construction for months. Which would account for the noise. And it caters to Europeans. This could be the place.”

“Sweet. We totally scored. But you couldn't have got that without my transient location thing, am I right?”

Leiken took a bit of the pineapple upside down cake and gagged. “I don't...I don't think that cake is cooked.”

Shawn then called Lassie and Leiken called Ewing to let them know of the new location they should check out. They all met there within half an hour.

* * *

Carlton was fed up with Ewing by the end of the day. He was glad the man didn’t mention Shawn answering his phone last night, but it seemed to have made the guy try harder. The agent was all up in his personal space throughout the day and always came to him to discuss the case, never to the Chief or O’Hara. Carlton tried to show he wasn’t interested, but that seemed to just increase the agent’s efforts.

By the time they got the call from Shawn that evening, Carlton was ready to strangle the guy.

They headed into the hotel as a group and walked up to the front desk. He and Ewing immediately started talking over one another.

“I'm sorry, who are you, and what do you want?” The hotel manager wasn’t impressed.

“Special Agent Lars Ewing. Federal Treasury Department.” Ewing flashed his badge.

Carlton also pulled out his SBPD badge. “Head Detective Carlton Lassiter, Santa Barbara Police Department.”

“Presidential Recommendation for Distinguished Service.”

Carlton almost mentioned his physical fitness award, but one glance at Ewing and his smirk and he knew this one up thing was just a game to him. He knew Shawn would claim its flirting, and Carlton wasn’t interested in playing this guy’s flirtatious game. He took a breath to calm himself and got down to business. “Look, we need to know who's paid with cash or travelers checks recently.”

“It would probably be easier to ask who didn't.”

“I'm sorry?”

“This is a hotel. We're a cash business. Lots of European travelers. With what foreign credit card companies charge these days, cash is king.”

Shawn interjected. “The south tower, I see him. I see him in the south tower.”

“How many rooms in the south tower?” Carlton asked.

“There are 170.”

“All right, let's start banging on some doors and call for backup. If we tap every available source of manpower, we can have this thing done 18, 19 hours tops.”

“I can alert Washington right now and have an 80-man SWAT team on a C-130 Hercules. They could be here in less than three hours.”

Carlton couldn’t even be irritated, knowing the help would be appreciated.

“Filthy sheets! I see dirty, filthy sheets.” Shawn said.

Ah, so the guy likely refused room service. Carlton was impressed with his boyfriend’s intelligence.

“Yes, and towels on the floor.” Leiken added.

“And a mediocre, half-eaten turkey club sandwich. And he's refused maid service.”

“Okay, what guest refused maid service?” Juliet asked.

“I might remind you we do cater to a very European crowd.” The hotel manager said.

“He's isolated. He's in a less-desirable room that's not facing the ocean. Do you have any rooms that face the parking lot?”

“A few.”

“He's in one of those.” Shawn decided.

“Let's see. French woman. Another French party. Here... here's a single gentleman. Paid all in cash. Corner room facing the alley. And according to this, he's never take his "do not disturb" sign off his door.”

Damn, his boyfriend was fantastic.

“Room number.” Ewing demanded.

“Key.” Carlton added.

* * *

Shawn and Gus followed the detectives, agents and Chief into the room, and started looking around once they cleared the room. While Ewing explained the uses of the washer and dryer for money making, Shawn noticed an empty bag of linen paper in the closet.

Shawn whispered to Gus. “Dude, there's linen fibers in that paper. What was he doing, amending the constitution?”

“You can't print money on regular paper, Shawn. That's government-issue.”

“I'm getting a visual. He printed a batch of about 50,000, which will last him a while.” Leiken said.

Ewing checked out the mostly empty back of paper on the printer. “Five bills a sheet, at least 80 sheets missing from this ream that sounds about right.”

Nope, Shawn had seen another bag empty in the closet. That math was all wrong.

“Wait. No, I'm getting more. I'm getting a lot more. Like 500,000, which would last more than just a while. Maybe... maybe a whole lifetime.”

“That's not possible.”

“It is if you live in one of the Baltic states.” Gus shot him a weird look but Shawn ignored it.

“I'm just not getting that feeling...at all. Anything over 50,000 is just getting blocked from my receptors. Not a chance.”

Why was she so adamant about this? Something was off about that. “Receptors? Really?” Shawn let his hand “lead” him to the closet, and with a nod from Gus, he blindly grabbed the empty bag of paper and showed it to everyone.

Ewing stormed over and ripped the bag from his hand. Man, Ewing did not like him. “This would do it. This is a 500-sheet ream, and it's likely he used it all.”

Carly leaned over and checked out a stamp on the desk. “Treasury seal?”

Ewing walked over and checked it out. “No. Passport seal.”

Shit, this guy was on the run for sure. He also noticed the pure shock on Leiken’s face, interesting. “Uh, this guy's officially on the lam. We don't catch him now, we can kiss him good-bye.”

Carlton and Ewing quickly made some calls to notify the airports, railway stations and all interstate agencies. They then all headed out of the hotel room and headed out of the hotel. Shawn and Gus stayed behind, about to make their own plans, when Leiken approached them.

“Shawn, I don't do this much, but I just wanted to say thank you. I know we haven't nailed him yet, but you were right, we make a good team.”

Shawn didn’t agree. He didn’t like working with her, and believed she was hiding something. But he needed to know what else she knew. She’s known more than Shawn this whole time. “Yes, we do. And hopefully tomorrow we'll wrap this thing up. Have a good night.” He shook her hand and she walked off. However, she believed he was interested in her, which was the perfect opportunity to go back to her hotel room and figure out what else she knew. Though Lassie probably wouldn’t be thrilled with that. “Wait for it...Wait for it.” Gus looked at him, confused.

Leiken turned around and walked back over to them. “Shawn, I was thinking maybe we could go somewhere now. Maybe continue working to see if we can't stumble upon some collective apparition.”

“That's a fantastic idea. I love it. Where could we go at this hour that's still open? You know what, I think there's a Color Me Mine that stays open late.”

“You don't quit with the jokes, do you?”

“I'm sorry, would you like me to stop?”

“Not yet. I kinda like it. But actually, I was thinking back to my hotel room?”

Shawn was surprised with how uncomfortable he was with the proposition. But he had to go through with it. He had a hunch about Leiken and he had to follow through. “You know, it's something we could try. I mean, it's not as much fun as making ashtrays with our names on them, but... Yeah. I'm a flexible guy, a sportsman.”

“Good. All right, I'll head back to freshen up. What do you say we meet at 2200 hours?”

“Perfect. Oh, I'm so rude. Gus, buddy, would you like to join us?” Shawn shot Gus a look.

“Well, I actually have an early day tomorrow, so I’ll pass.” Gus seemed to misinterpret Shawn’s look. Shawn had hoped he’d tag along, if only to make sure she didn’t make a move on him.

“That sucks, so 2200 on the dot. I'll be there.”

Leiken nodded and headed out of the hotel.

“Aren’t you with Lassiter? What are you doing flirting with Leiken?”

Shawn sighed. “She knows more than she should. She was genuinely shocked that the guy was on the run, like she had an idea where he should be. Something is seriously up with her. I need to find out what that is. And I’m not flirting with her.”

“You so are.”

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.”

“Just be careful, Shawn. If she’s really hiding something, she could be dangerous.”

“Thanks, buddy, but we both know I can handle myself.”

The two of them headed out to the Blueberry, and Gus drove Shawn to his motorcycle at Lassie’s place. He got back to the house and with time to spare, he decided to give Lassie a call to update him on what was going on.

“Lassie!”

“Hey Shawn, got something new for us?”

“Not yet, but I’m headed to Leiken’s hotel room in a bit and we’re going to put our heads together and see what we can come up with.”

“You’re doing what?”

“I know, going to her hotel room isn’t ideal, but she’s into me, Lassie, and I’m hoping to get her to reveal what she knows. We both know psychics aren’t real, so I need to know how she knows what she knows.”

“…Okay. I guess that’s not a terrible idea.”

“Nothing is gonna happen, Lassie-frass. You’ve got nothing to worry about. I’ll be home by midnight.”

“Okay, Shawn, be careful.”

“Always am, Carly…Love you.”

Carlton’s voice drops to a whisper. “I love you too, Shawn.”

Shawn hangs up with a smile on his face.

* * *

“So, tell me, Shawn, how’d you get into psychic police work as an army Sergeant?”

Leiken and Shawn sat together on the small hotel loveseat in Leiken’s room.

“I needed something to do on leave when I was visiting Gus here in Santa Barbara. Decided to use my gifts to help the police and have a little fun.”

“It is fun, isn’t it? Just make sure they appreciate you. After a while, the world tends to take people with our abilities for granted.”

“That's awfully easy for you to say. I mean, you've already met your special someone…” He mentioned it, trying to get her to open up. As he spoke, she leaned closer. “You're serious with somebody, remember?”

“Actually, I...recently had a change of heart.”

“Really?” Shawn leaned back a bit, away from Leiken. She moved closer.

“We have quite a connection. Can’t you feel it?”

“I mean, sure-.”

“It's like our minds are just fused together, you know? I feel like Holly Hunter in Broadcast News, you know, when she's inside William Hurt's head? Let's try it. I'm thinking of something.”

Okay, Shawn can play along with this. “None... they don't bury the survivors.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“You have a favorite color, and I'm seeing... sea foam green.”

“Actually, it's blue, but that is so near the green family.” Leiken moved into Shawn’s personal space.

“Pick a number between one and ten.”

“Eight.”

“Actually-.” Leiken leaned in for a kiss and Shawn leaned back and jumped to his feet. “Leiken, I can’t. I’m actually with someone.”

Leiken got to her feet and invaded Shawn’s space again. “Sure you are.” She leaned in for another kiss.

Shawn stepped back once again. “I am. And I’m committed to them.”

She searched his face, but didn’t seem to read it right, or didn’t want to. “Okay. Well, I’m going to take a shower.” She slipped off her shirt and Shawn shifted away his gaze. “If you change your mind, you know where I’ll be.” She turned and headed for the bathroom, slipping off her bra on the way. She entered the bathroom and cracked the door behind her.

Shawn kept his gaze on the wall until she was out of view. As soon as she was gone, he quickly did a search of the room, looking for something, anything that would tell him what she knew. He found her bag but all it had was clothes. Nothing was in the closet, and all that was in the trash was a coffee receipt for Goleta Gulp. Why was she in Goleta? He finished searching the room and headed out, not wanting to be there when Leiken got out of the shower.

* * *

Shawn got home only minutes after Lassie, around midnight. They both got ready for bed in silence and then crawled into bed together. Shawn laid with his head on Carlton’s chest.

“Find out anything from Leiken?”

“Not a thing. Find out anything else about the counterfeiter?”

“Not a thing.”

After that the two of them drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Lassie’s alarm went off at 6am sharp. The two of them woke up, took quick showers and got ready for the day. Shawn made coffee while Lassie made them both a quick breakfast. They headed for the police station at 6:45 but Lassie got a call and they quickly changed routes. They arrived at a crime scene where the victim was their counterfeiter. He even had the exact scar and ear piercing.

“How the hell did she do that?” Shawn mumbled to Lassie. “How did she know this guy?”

Lassie was at a complete loss as well. Just then Leiken entered the crime scene and kneeled by the dead body. She then placed her hands all over the body.

“Whoa... touchy!” Lassie dragged Leiken away from the body. “I don't know how you do it in Washington, but here, we don't disturb the body till forensics has a chance to come in, collect some evidence.”

After that Shawn headed to the psych office, where he met Gus. He pulled out the clear board and together the two of them went over the case. Shawn just knew he was missing something.

He quickly wrote everything he knew on the board. Leiken knew about the scar and piercing meaning she’d seen him before. They almost caught the counterfeiter previously, so maybe she saw him then. They found proof that the counterfeiter was on the run, and Leiken was in shock, which meant she wasn’t expecting that, but why would she be more surprised than everyone else? Then there was the coffee receipt. It could easily mean nothing, but it was dated for yesterday… when she was late for a meeting with Ewing! So what was she doing getting coffee all the way out in Goleta… He wrote it down and stared at the board, missing something.

Gus looked over all of Shawn’s notes. “Wasn’t the counterfeiter spotted in Goleta?”

And it all fell into place. She was meeting the counterfeiter! They were partners.

“Gus, you’re a genius! We have to go.” He pulled out his phone and called Lassie as they headed out to the Blueberry.

“Lassie, I’ve solved the case!”

“Shawn, there is no case, the counterfeiter is dead.”

“No, that’s just it, he had a partner! Where are you and the agents?”

“A partner, who-?”

“Lassie, where are you guys?”

“We’re headed to the airport to see them off.”

“Okay, we’ll meet you there! Don’t let them leave.” Shawn hung up and gave Gus directions on where to go.

* * *

Shawn and Gus arrived just as Leiken was about to board the plane. They raced over to them. “Whoa, Leiken, Leiken, Leiken! Wait, wait, wait!”

Leiken stopped heading for the plane, looking irritated by Shawn’s presence. Shawn assumed it was because he didn’t take her up on her offer for that shower. “I just wanted to make sure I had an opportunity to congratulate you, you know, personally.”

“Thank you. It's not necessary.”

“No, no, no, it is necessary. You did it. You cracked it. I mean, you deserve all the credit...You're amazing. She's an amazing person.”

Shawn noticed Lassie giving him a weird look, but he ignored it for now.

“Look, Shawn, don't feel too bad. There'll be other cases.” Leiken headed for the plane again.

“Yeah, yeah, I know. I know. But not for you.” Leiken turned around, stopping once again. “You see...It all started when you identified the scar on the jaw line of our counterfeiter, along with his little diamond-stud earring. I mean, I couldn't even draw a hair color. So there's no way that you could do that unless...” Shawn paused for dramatic effect and winked at Lassie, who had to hide a small smirk. “Unless you'd already seen him before.”

“This is ridiculous.”

“Is it? I had a vision you were drinking coffee.”

“Oh, congratulations.”

“But not at the hotel. You were driving past one Starbucks, two Starbucks, 17 Starbucks, and ended up all the way in Goleta. On the very same day that Grabinski's Lamborghini was spotted just outside of town in...Anybody?” He pointed to the Ewing, he needed the man to follow along so he’d believe him. “Special?”

“Goleta.” Ewing answered.

“That's right. Goleta. The two of you were partners and you were in touch the whole time. What's more, they were lovers in the night. I didn't think it was possible to fall in love with somebody in the span of five minutes. That's when you met him. You didn't miss him. She had him. She had your bad boy red-handed. Suddenly you were much more interested in combining forces and making a whole lot of money.”

Shawn noticed Leiken pale as he slowly revealed everything. Perfect. “And it was going well. It was going very well... Until you blew it. You know which moment I'm talking about, right? The one in the hotel room. When you realized he had printed way more than the 50,000 that you'd planned. And the passport? So you called him that morning, you met him at the warehouse. It was you who struggled with him. And it was you who shot him dead. Only then, having your vision that miraculously led everyone here to the crime scene.”

“Oh, come on. I mean, I've seen poor losers before, but this is just sad.” Leiken tried to reason with everyone, but they were all intently listening to Shawn.

“Your DNA was all over him. But you covered your tracks by touching the body in front of everybody before forensics had a chance to come in and brush it. That only leaves one outstanding issue. Where's the rest of the money?” He thought about doing some weird antic about krav maga, but decided to keep it professional. He kicked Leiken’s bag. “It’s in the bag!”

Ewing walked over and checked the bag, revealing it was full of cash.

“Well, you were wrong about one thing, Shawn. I didn't try to sleep with you because you were my enemy. I did it because I really thought we had something.”

“Okay. First of all, a little discretion would be nice. All right? I mean, these are… These are my co-workers. We didn’t sleep together.” He met Lassie’s eyes. “Secondly, anything we had, you ruined. Because you betrayed your gift, Leikin. You give a bad name to psychics like me who pride themselves on the purity of that gift. There are so many people out there who already doubt what we do. Now you've given 'em all a reason to think that we're fakes. You sicken me...I'm sickened.

“Gun!” Lassie noticed Leiken’s gun first and shouted the warning to Shawn. When Leiken tried to grab Shawn, he twisted her arm behind her and forced her to the ground before she could even try to take him hostage. Lassie was there in an instant, removing Leiken’s gun from her hand. Then he handed Shawn his cuffs so that he could cuff her.

Shawn happily cuffed Leiken and then dragged her to his feet.

They quickly wrapped up everything at the airport before heading back to the police station, needing to process Leiken and everything before the fed left town. Shawn and Gus filled out some paperwork for the case before they were free to go. Shawn sent Gus out to the car before heading over to Lassie’s desk.

Shawn lowered his voice when he reached Lassie’s side. “You gonna be home for dinner?”

“Unlikely, I think I’m going to see if O’Hara wants to grab dinner, so I can tell her about us.”

Shawn nodded. “Okay. Just make sure to be home for dessert.” He winked at Lassie and brushed his hand briefly against the detective’s arm before heading out of the station.

* * *

Juliet and Carlton ate dinner while discussing their past couple of cases. Juliet was curious why Carlton asked her to dinner, and she hoped he was finally going to confess about his relationship with Shawn. She had been patient and didn’t confront him about it the past few months because she wanted him to trust her enough to tell her himself.

Their conversation died down as they finished discussing the case from today and they fell into comfortable silence. Juliet waited patiently for Carlton to bring up why he wanted to have dinner.

“Thanks for coming to dinner with me, O’Hara.”

“Of course, Carlton.”

“Now I had an ulterior motive for asking you to dinner.”

“Oh really?” Juliet smiled, showing that she already knew that.

“Partners shouldn’t keep anything from each other, and so I wanted to tell you… I’ve been seeing someone.”

Juliet schooled her expression to hide that she already knew this. “Really?”

“Yeah, it’s a recent development, but I think we’re going to be together for the long haul. So I thought you should know about it.”

Juliet nodded. “Do I know them?”

“You do actually…It’s Shawn.”

“Spencer?” Juliet tried to hide her smile as she was thrilled Carlton was finally sharing this with her. She didn’t want Carlton to get the wrong idea about the smile.

“Yes, Spencer…Our history is complicated, but we recently got back together, and I thought you should know.”

Juliet finally smiled. “Thank you for telling me, Carlton.”

Carlton looked her over for a moment. “You don’t seem surprised by this at all.”

Juliet’s smile turned sheepish. “I actually saw you and Shawn kissing in the hospital room.”

“You’ve known for months and you didn’t say anything.”

“I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me. I didn’t want to out you before you were ready.”

Carlton gave a small smile. “I appreciate that O’Hara.”

They sat in silence for another minute before Juliet couldn’t hold back her questions anymore. “So how did you two meet?”

Carlton took a minute to respond and Juliet thought he was going to blow her off. “We actually met in a bar.”

They two of them ordered coffee and talked for another hour.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait, but I hope you enjoyed this chapter! An easy episode after a tense couple of chapters. Let me know your feedback! Love you all :)


	11. Interlude 3

Following the counterfeiter case, the Chief didn’t contact Shawn for any other cases while he was on leave. So he spent his days pestering Gus, visiting Lassiter at work, and relaxing at Lassie’s home. At the end of his leave, his team and a few others were planning a BBQ back in Washington, so Shawn checked Lassie’s schedule and was thrilled to see his boyfriend was off that weekend. The two of them bought plane tickets and headed up to Washington the day before the BBQ.

The two of them headed to Shawn’s apartment after the airport. His apartment was well furnished and had various photos hung up around the place of Shawn and his team as well as Shawn and Gus. Carlton found himself looking at the photos while Shawn dropped their bags on the couch.

Shawn walked up behind Carlton and wrapped his arms around his boyfriend.

“Who’s this?” Carlton pointed at a photo of Shawn with a guy, both of them smiling brightly at the camera.

“That’s Coop…my closest friend outside of Gus.”

Carlton nodded; he remembered Shawn talking about Coop in their years together. He turned around and wrapped his arms around Shawn. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you when you lost him, Shawn.”

Shawn leaned his head against Carlton’s chest. “…it’s okay, Lassie, you’re here for me now.”

“And I’ll be there for you from now on.” He kissed the top of Shawn’s head.

Shawn smiled up at his Lassie. “I can’t wait for everyone to meet you tomorrow.”

Carlton’s smile falters a little. “There’s a decent chance a lot of them won’t like me, Shawn…just like Stryker and Reid.”

“They’ll come to love you, I just know it, Lassie. They have to.”

Carlton nodded, but he didn’t feel so sure.

* * *

The next day they stopped at a small bakery near Shawn’s place for a couple pies. Then they headed to the park where the BBQ was being held. The whole ride there, Carlton’s leg bounced slightly with nerves. He had a gut feeling he wouldn’t be very welcome in this group of people, not after what he did to Shawn years ago.

Shawn reached over and laid his hand on Carlton’s leg. “It’ll be fine, Lassie, I promise. And if it’s not, we’ll leave.”

“I don’t want you to have to leave, Shawn. They’re your family. I don’t want to cause any problems for you with them.”

“Everything will be fine, Carlton.”

They arrived at the park a few minutes later where the BBQ was already in full swing. The kids were playing on the playground and the adults were gathered around a couple picnic tables and a barbeque pit. Carlton recognized the members of Shawn’s team, but there were a lot of people there he didn’t recognize at all, which made him nervous. Anyone that knew Carlton knew he wasn’t the most social of people. He didn’t want to mess this up for Shawn and he felt the pressure.

The two of them climbed out of the car and Shawn grabbed Carlton’s hand before leading the way over to everyone else. Slowly, person by person, everyone started to notice Shawn and Carlton, and conversation started to dwindle as they began to piece together whom exactly was holding Shawn’s hand. Carlton noticed a wide variety of expressions on everyone’s face, many of which weren’t the friendliest. His grip tightened on Shawn’s hand.

* * *

_2001_

_Shawn sat at a picnic table, nursing a beer, and slowly picking at the label on the bottle. Conversations drifted around him, but he heard nothing. All he was focused on was the fact that two of the most important people in his life weren’t there._

_Sara Henderson and Lillian Jackson, War’s fiancée and Cards’ sister respectively, sat on either side of Shawn. They kept an eye on Shawn while they chatted about what had been going on in their lives. They were both worried that the usually “can’t shut up” Shawn hadn’t said a word._

_“Shawn, hon, you want to talk to us?” Lillian laid her hand on Shawn’s arm, jolting him from his own little world._

_“What?” Shawn looked like a lost puppy, completely vulnerable._

_“Oh, Shawn, it’ll be okay.” Sara said._

_Shawn shrugged. “…I’ve lost everything.”_

_“Hon, you know that’s not true. Look around you, you have a whole family here.”_

_“Without it’s most important member.” He ripped off the label in one fell swoop._

_Read walked over and sat across from them. “Coop is still with us, ‘apples.”_

_“It’s not the same, Read…he should be here…”_

_Cards joined them and wrapped his arms around Shawn. “We know, Spence, and we agree. But all we can do is remember him and keep him in our hearts.”_

_“…that’s super cheesy, Cards.” A flicker of a smile appears on Shawn’s lips._

_Cards ruffled Shawn’s hair before heading back over to the barbeque pit where War was grilling the burgers._

_The smile disappeared from Shawn’s face after a few moments._

_Lillian grabbed Shawn’s hand and squeezed. “You have all of us. You haven’t lost everything.”_

_All Shawn could think about was his lost brother and the loss of his whole world in Carlton Lassiter._

_“He’s not worth your pain, hon.” Lillian had a knack for reading people._

_Tears welled up in Shawn’s eyes despite his best efforts. “I needed him…”_

_“We know, Shawny.” Sara said._

_“How am I supposed to move on from this?” His voice cracked at the end and Lillian wrapped her arms around him. He let himself break down in the safety of his pseudo sister’s arms._

_Everyone at the barbeque watched as one of their own fell apart._

* * *

“It’s okay, Carly.” Shawn squeezed Carlton’s hand and led the way over to his family. He wasn’t blind and noticed the not so friendly expressions Carlton was receiving, but he wanted his family to get to know his boyfriend, even if they didn’t agree with his choice.

They all seemed to stare for a moment before Cards broke the tension and walked over with a smile on his face. “Spence, Carlton. Glad you guys could make it.” He pulled Shawn into a hug and then shook Carlton’s hand. Soon others followed Cards lead and they were greeted by various people.

Shawn introduced Carlton to everyone, starting with the team members of the Scorpions and GA’s, the two teams that the Hell Hounds often worked with. Then he introduced Carlton to his favorite people – Sara, Lillian and Amber Watson, Snake’s girlfriend. The three of them were like sisters to him.

They were friendly enough, though the three of them were a little cold with Carlton, being very protective of Shawn. Amber may not have been there when the two men first broke up, but she’d heard enough stories to know the heart break Shawn went through.

“It’s nice to finally meet the infamous Carly.” Sara shook Carlton’s hand.

Carlton raises an eyebrow at the nickname but smiled nonetheless and shook Sara’s hand, followed by Lillian’s and Amber’s. “It’s nice to meet you guys too.”

War and Snake were the only two that don’t greet Carlton, instead greeting Shawn when he’s off getting drinks for himself and Carlton.

“You two can’t avoid Carly forever.” He shot a look at both of them, unimpressed.

“It doesn’t have to be forever. Just until he leav-.” War elbowed Snake in the side, not wanting to upset Shawn.

“What Snake means is we won’t avoid him forever, just until he’s proven he’s worthy of your time.”

Shawn nodded, understanding where they were coming from even if he didn’t like it.

They’re interrupted by a darling little voice. “Uncle Shawn you made it!”

Shawn turned and smiled at the sight of little Mallory Harris, Read’s daughter. “How’s my favorite little munchkin?” He pulled the ten-year-old into a hug.

“I’m hardly a little munchkin anymore.”

“You’ll always be a munchkin to me, don’t worry.”

The little girl rolled her eyes with a smile. “Daddy said you were bringing a friend today? Is he here?”

“He sure is. Would you like to meet him?”

She nodded. Shawn grabbed the beers he came for and led the girl back over to Carlton, who was chatting amiably with the ladies. “Carly, there’s someone I’d like you to meet.”

Carlton turned and smiled at the girl that was now hiding behind Shawn. “And who is this?”

“Carly, meet Mallory, Read’s daughter. Mallory, meet my boyfriend Carly.”

Carlton held out his hand to Mallory who shyly shook it. “Hi, Mr. Carly. It’s very nice to meet you.”

“Its very nice to meet you too, Ms. Mallory.”

Mallory giggled. “I like your boyfriend, Uncle Shawn.”

“I do too, munchkin.”

The rest of the day went off without a hitch. Carlton chatted with Cards and Read and a few of the other team members for most of the day, getting along well with them, and Shawn spent most of the day catching up with his favorite ladies. Overall, the two of them had a great time, and left after dark when everything was cleaned up.

On the drive home, they rode in comfortable silence, holding hands while Shawn drove, until Carlton broke the quiet. “Your family is great, Shawn.”

Shawn smiled. “Yeah, they’re pretty fantastic. I’m glad you like them. And I told you they’d like you.”

“I don’t know if they like me, as much as they put up with me, but I had a great time.”

“They liked you, I’m sure of it.”

“Sure, Shawn, whatever you say.” He kissed the back of Shawn’s hand. “I love you.”

If possible, Shawn’s smile grew. His eyes twinkling. “I love you too Lassie.”

* * *

Around 3 am Shawn and Carlton were woken by Shawn’s phone ringing. “Spencer…yes, sir.” He hung up and reluctantly sat up, rubbing the sleep from his face.

“What’s going on?” Lassie laid a hand on Shawn’s back.

“I just got called in. They want me to report ASAP.”

Carlton nodded and pushed himself to sit up as well. “I’ll make you some coffee while you get ready.”

Shawn loved his boyfriend in that moment. “Thanks, Carly.”

The two of them climbed out of bed. Shawn quickly got dressed and grabbed his go bag while Carlton went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee for Shawn. When Shawn walked out ready to go, Carlton handed his boyfriend a to-go mug of coffee and gave him a quick kiss.

“Be safe, Shawn.”

“I’ll talk to you as soon as I can, Carly.” Then Shawn was gone.

Carlton headed back to bed but didn’t fall asleep right away, worried about Shawn like he always was when his boyfriend headed out on a mission. He got a text from Shawn around 7 am saying he’d be gone for several months without contact. Carlton sighed and climbed out of bed to get ready for his flight back to Santa Barbara.

* * *

Every week or so, Carlton would get a text from Sara, updating him on any information the families were given. Usually it was just a text saying they’d heard nothing, but it was nice to know someone else was in a similar situation as him, left with nothing but hope.

He put all of his focus into his work, working cases nonstop for months. O’Hara did force him to take breaks on occasion, but most of his time went into doing his job so that he couldn’t worry about Shawn.

* * *

Shawn and his team were running special reconnaissance on a small north Asian rebel group for almost four months and they were ready to return home. They almost had everything they needed from the group, including their usual operations, the head figures and all the details they would need to take it down if necessary. For now, their mission was intel only. They hadn’t expected it to take this long to fully understand the workings of the rebel group, but they had to stay until the mission was complete.

Right now, Shawn and Read were following the leader around town, tracking his movements and staying out of sight, while the rest of the team was sitting on the group headquarters. If they were lucky this would be the last day in Asia and they’d home tomorrow.

“Check in.” Cards voice rang out over their earpieces.

“Everything’s good here. The Hawk has entered his usual market and should be heading back to headquarters in a few.” Shawn answered. Read was watching the back entrance while Shawn had view of the front.

The Hawk always spent 10 minutes within the shop every day and never faltered from their routine. So when 45 minutes passed, the team knew something was wrong.

“I’m going in.” Shawn left his bench from across the street and headed into the market, dressed in casual clothes he merely looked like regular shopper. A minute after Shawn entered the market, they heard static then Shawn’s radio went dead.

“Spencer. Spencer, respond!” The only answer was silence.

“I’m going in.” Read headed for the back entrance to the market.

“You will not! That’s an order. You will wait for backup. We’ll be there in 15 minutes.”

“Shawn may not have 15 minutes, Cards! Let me go in after him!”

“Not without backup! You have no idea what you’re walking into.”

“It’s a small market, we’ve been inside a hundred times!”

“Which means they’re not going anywhere. You will wait.”

* * *

It took them 15 minutes to meet up at the market, five minutes after raiding the market to find the secret underground entrance, 2 hours to figure out the winding underground tunnels that apparently ran under the small town they’d been in for months, and 5 minutes to take down the enemies between them and Shawn.

The team had to carry Shawn out and luckily slipped out of town without notifying any more of the rebel group that they were there. They caught a quick helicopter right out of town, and they were soon on their way to an American army base over the border in Europe.

* * *

When Shawn came to, he was in a brightly lit room and it took several moments for his eyes to adjust. Once they did he noticed he was in a hospital room and his teammates filled up the room around him. They were all dozing off except Read who was whispering into a cell phone.

Read quickly noticed he was awake and hung up. He approached the bed. “How are you feeling, ‘apples?”

Shawn let himself focus on the pain and a groan escaped his lips before he could stop it, rousing the rest of his teammates.

“I’ll get a nurse to come give you meds for the pain.” Read headed out in search of a nurse.

“Do you remember a lot of what happened, Spence?” Cards asked.

Shawn sifted through his memories, only remembering pain and a dark room underground, not much else. He shook his head, then regretted it as throbbing pain went through his skull.

“Careful there, ‘apples, you have a severe concussion.” War said.

A nurse walked in and smiled at Shawn. “Sgt. Spencer, it’s good to see you awake. I was told you were in pain?”

“Just a little.” He tried for a smile, but it quickly became a grimace.

“Well I can give you something for that.” She produced a needle of medication and injected it into Shawn’s IV.

“…What are my injuries?”

The nurse pulled out his chart and skimmed it. “You broke four bones in your right hand and 2 in your right arm. You broke 3 ribs and have a severe concussion and bruising. As well as stitches in cuts on your left thigh, your chest and left cheek. You also have a black eye.” After checking that she couldn’t do anything else, the nurse left the room.

“We’ll be flying home as soon as they declare you stable enough to fly.” Cards squeezed Shawn’s good hand.

“Which should be tomorrow, hopefully.” Read added.

Shawn nodded carefully and sighed. “…Lassie’s going to kill me.”

“Probably, I know Sara would kill me if I came home looking like that.” War smirked.

“You can give him a call if you’d like. We have phone privileges again.” Read offered him a phone.

Shawn yawned as the drugs kicked in. “…Maybe later.”

“Get some rest, Spence, we’ll be here when you wake up.”

Shawn nodded and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

“Hey Lassie, I’m sure you’re busy working, but I wanted to let you know that we’re headed back to the States in a couple hours. I’ll call you again once we land so we can talk arrangements for me coming home for awhile…I got injured so I’ll be on recovery for a bit, might even get to be home for Christmas. I love you Carly, talk to you soon.”

* * *

Three days later, Shawn limped down the hallway leading from the plane to the airport. He was in a decent amount of pain, but his biggest concern was how Carly would react to seeing him like this. He knew Carly was going to use his badge to meet him at the gate, for which he was grateful. He was in enough pain now that he knew he wasn’t going to make it to baggage claim alone. He made sure he was the last one off the plane so that he wouldn’t bump into anyone in a hurry, so the gate was pretty empty when he finally exited the hallway.

It took Shawn mere seconds to find Carly and he fell in love all over again seeing his boyfriend standing there in jeans and a SBPD t-shirt. He was as handsome as always. Shawn smiled and slowly limped over to Carly.

Carlton saw Shawn right away and his heart broke. There was his usually badass boyfriend, beaten and bruised. His arm was in a sling and he was limping gingerly, likely in a lot of pain. It crushed his soul to see him like that.

“Hey, Carly.” Shawn stopped right in front of Carlton and took his hand in his good one. He’d hug him, but his ribs hurt too much for that right now.

Carlton squeezed Shawn’s hand. “You look like hell.”

Shawn grimaced. “And feel like it too.”

Carlton laid his hand on Shawn’s uninjured cheek and Shawn leaned into the touch. “Do you want a wheelchair to the baggage claim?”

“No-.” Shawn paused. “Actually, yeah, that’d be great.”

Carlton immediately knew it was bad if Shawn was willing to accept help like that. He asked a flight attendant to get them a wheelchair and she quickly obliged. In minutes, Carlton was wheeling Shawn down to the baggage claim. They got his bag quickly and Carlton then helped Shawn out to his car.

Their ride to Carlton’s house was filled with silence. Shawn closed his eyes and laid his head back, breathing through the pain in his ribs at every bump in the road. Carlton let Shawn be, knowing he could ask his questions later. For now, he just let himself be glad that Shawn was home and seemingly in one, injured, piece.

The two of them ordered in takeout for dinner and discussed Carlton’s recent cases while Law and Order played on the TV in the background. Carlton told Shawn about a drug smuggling case, a dead food critic, and robberies conducted by owners of a nannying agency. They didn’t discuss what happened to Shawn, for which he was grateful. He still had gaps in his memory, and he wasn’t quite ready to talk about it yet.

They went to bed early when Shawn started to drift off. Shawn slept on his back, the best position for his ribs, with Carlton laying next to him. Carlton laid his hand on Shawn’s arm, wanting to feel the man next to him. They fell asleep, taking comfort in being together again.

Shawn was glad to be home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's another quick chapter for y'all! It's short but important. Hope y'all enjoy! Let me know what you think! :)


	12. Bounty Hunters!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! Here's another chapter for y'all. It's not my best work, but I hope you all enjoy it! Let me know what you think! :)

Carlton slipped out of bed and headed to the bathroom to shower. He tried to be as quiet as he could. Shawn needed as much sleep as he could with his injuries, and the younger man hadn’t been sleeping well the few nights he’d be home.

When he got out of the shower and entered the bedroom, he was disappointed to see the bed empty and the smell of coffee filled the house. Carlton got dressed and met Shawn in the kitchen. “I was hoping you’d get some more sleep.” He kissed his boyfriend’s forehead before grabbing mugs for them both.

“I’ve been awake awhile.”

“Nightmares?” Carlton poured them both coffee and the two of them sat at the kitchen table.

“More like memory fragments. I’m trying to piece together what happened and can’t seem to figure out the right combination.”

Carlton nodded. “Well try to get some rest today if you can.”

“I’ve been resting Lassie. I’m sick of resting. I’m ready to go out. See Gus. Maybe Jules.”

“I don’t want you coming by the station. You’ll get pulled into a case somehow and I don’t think you’re ready for that.”

“I’m not some fragile pineapple figurine, Carly. I can handle a case.”

“Maybe, but we don’t have any we would need help on anyway. So go hang out with Gus. Maybe see Henry.” Carlton got up to refill his mug and grab a protein bar for breakfast.

“Why would I go see my dad?”

“Because he’s worried about you? He doesn’t even know you’re back in town.”

“Gus probably told him.”

“Even more reason to reach out, let him know you’re back, yourself, and mostly in one piece.”

“He’d probably just lose his shit seeing me like this, it’s better if he doesn’t see me this time.”

“Shawn.”

“Lassie.”

Carlton could tell he was losing this battle. “Fine, don’t go see him. But Gus mentioned he’d been particularly worried this time around. Said he had a bad feeling or something. I really think you should at least call him.”

Shawn sighed. “I’ll think about it.”

Carlton nodded. He finished his protein bar and grabbed his suit jacket. “I’ll call you later, we’re transporting a prisoner this morning, should be pretty simple. I should be free to grab lunch. We can even invite O’Hara if you’re up for it.”

“Sounds great. Be careful.”

Carlton kissed Shawn goodbye before heading out of the house for work.

* * *

Shawn called Gus and they went to get waffles for breakfast. The two of them purposely didn’t talk about Shawn’s injuries or his time over seas. They joked around and chatted about what was up in Gus’ life. Gus asked about Lassie and then brought up Henry, just like Carly did earlier.

“What is it with you guys today? I don’t need to call my dad.”

“He’s been worried about you Shawn. Just give him a call, let him know you’re okay.”

“You can clearly see that I’m not okay, Gus. He’ll be able to tell from a mere phone call, and then he’ll want to have dinner, and it’ll be a whole ordeal.”

“Maybe, but he deserves to know about this.”

Shawn sighed but pulled out his phone and rang up his dad. It was a short conversation that ended in plans for dinner, exactly what Shawn didn’t want. But he agreed anyway. He hung up and shot Gus a look. “Happy?”

“You know it.” They ordered another round of waffles.

* * *

The morning was rough, and Carlton saw the toll it was taking on O’Hara. He didn’t want to bench his partner, but he also didn’t want her guilt to rule her decisions. After having to deal with Byrd and Cole, Carlton was ready to find this guy. He mentioned to O’Hara that maybe she should stay behind, though he wouldn’t fight her on it if she disagreed. Then she mentioned bringing Shawn onto the case, so that every bit of manpower was being used.

“We’re not bringing Shawn onto this case.”

“You just said we were using every bit of manpower on this, but without Shawn and Gus that isn’t true. You said Shawn was home, let’s get his help on this.”

“Shawn is home, but what I didn’t tell you is that he’s not in the best shape right now.”

“All we need is to see if he has a vision about where Tancana is. We don’t need him to do anything strenuous.”

“I told him this morning that I didn’t want him on any cases for awhile. With the Chief gone, it’s my call if we call him or not.”

“If you’re going to bench me, then we’re calling Shawn.”

“I’m not benching you, O’Hara. I’m just worried your guilt will cloud your judgement.”

“My guilt? You’ve got to be kidding me, Carlton. My guilt is what will drive me to find him, and to do that we need Shawn.” She pulled out her cell and dialed.

“I just said not to call him!”

“It’s ringing.”

“O’Hara.”

She handed him the phone as Shawn answered.

“Jules!”

“Actually, it’s me, Shawn.”

“Lassie? What’s going on, why are you on Jules phone?”

“O’Hara forced me to call you…We could use your abilities.”

“You told me this morning you didn’t have any cases for me.”

“Yeah, well that prisoner we were transporting this morning? He escaped and we could use a vision or two to help us figure out where he is.”

“You specifically said this morning you didn’t want me anywhere near the station.”

Carlton sighed. “I know what I said, Shawn, but the prisoner escaped on O’Hara’s watch and we need to find him ASAP.”

“Okay, Gus and I will be there in 15.”

“Thanks, Shawn.” Carlton hung up and handed Juliet back her phone. “Happy?”

“Very.”

“Just a heads up, though, Shawn didn’t come home in the best shape. He got injured, and it ain’t pretty.”

* * *

“Not pretty” was an understatement. Juliet’s heart hurt at the sight of Shawn limping into the police station, arm in a sling and bruising on his face. With the way he was limping, she was sure his body was covered in bruises and had injuries that she couldn’t see. She smiled at Shawn and Gus as they walked over to her.

“Hey, Shawn, Gus.”

“Hey, Jules! I’m sorry to hear about the prisoner escape.”

Juliet’s smile disappeared. “Thanks, Shawn.”

“We’re gonna do everything we can to help you out.” Gus said.

“I appreciate that, guys, I really do.”

Juliet led the way over to Carlton’s desk, where Carlton was waiting. Carlton handed Shawn a file.

“So all I’m asking you to do is track Tancana and get back to us with any psychic leads on his whereabouts. Do not under any circumstances go after this guy. He’s dangerous and you are in no condition to handle him on your own.” He looked specifically at Shawn.

Shawn rolled his eyes. “Yes, Lassie. We got it.” He skimmed the case file, noticing a strange mark on the victim’s neck, before glancing up and noticing who was in the conference room. “Dude, it's Byrd. Remember Byrd?” He nudged Gus and nodded in Byrd’s direction.

“How could I forget him? He looks exactly the same way as when we were kids.”

“Same vest, same Shaun Cassidy hair.”

“Guys, here. Over here. Listen to me. Find out where this guy is, then call us. Don’t go and get yourselves into a dangerous situation like you normally do, okay? It’s very important that we catch this guy, and soon. The reputation of one of our own is at stake.”

“Give us a second. I have a question for Mr. Cole.” Shawn and Gus headed into the conference room where Mr. Cole and Byrd were.

“I'm very sorry for your loss. My name is Shawn Spencer. This is my partner Burton Guster. I'm a psychic here at the department, and I have one question for you. The $50,000 bounty, does that apply exclusively to Byrd here?” Shawn took in the room and noticed Cole’s hair gel immediately.

“I don't care who gets the $50,000. It goes to whoever brings Tancana in, and fast.” Mr. Cole answered.

“Thank you. That's good to know.” Shawn and Gus headed back out of the conference room. “My god, Cole has amazing hair.”

“Shawn, focus.”

“Did you smell it?”

“Of course I did. Ginger blossoms. But who cares?”

“I care, deeply. That's kangaroo paste.”

“Kangaroo what?”

“Hair gel. You can only get it in Australia. I've been trying to get my hands on it for months.”

Gus rolled his eyes.

“Okay, Lassie! The answer is an enthusiastic and sprightly yes. You've got yourself a couple of bounty hunters.”

“You two are not bounty hunters. Being bounty hunters would require you to go after Tancana. Which I explicitly said not to do.”

“Semantics, Lassie-frass. We’ll call you when we have a lead.” Shawn let his hand brush against Lassiter’s before Gus and he headed over to chat with Byrd who was leaving the conference room.

“Hey, man! You remember us? Uh, we had a moment once when we were kids.”

“Well, let me think. No.” He tried to brush past them, but they backed up and kept in front of him.

“But you winked at us.” Gus said.

“Yeah. Well, that was probably involuntary. I have a blepharospasm in my right eye. It makes me twitch.”

“Gus and I are brand new to the bounty hunter scene. We were hoping you had a few friendly tips for us.”

Byrd scoffed. He looked over Shawn and his injuries. “Oh, yeah. Yeah, sure. Uh, stay out of my way.”

“Wow. That didn't seem very friendly at all.” Gus said.

“Look, if I play my cards right, this is gonna be my last run. I'm gonna collect my 50 g's, and then I'm quitting the game. I'm retiring.”

Shawn flinched and ducked down.

Gus followed his example. “What?”

“My bad. Usually right when someone's about to retire, they get shot at, yeah?”

“Okay, I don't need you peons screwing this up for me, you got it? I just put a down payment on a bar in Key West.”

“Who are the other investors, Tango and Cash?” Shawn and Gus laughed.

“You know, it's interesting you're finding time to make fun when your pretty little blonde lady detective dropped the ball so hard. Tell you what, why don't you boys just step aside and let daddy clean up your mess?” He shoved past them and Shawn flinched when his right shoulder got hit.

Shawn was not impressed with Byrd at all. They turned around. “Look, just because we didn't go to the costume shop and get a bounty hunter's wrist bracelet and accessories kit, doesn't mean that we won't be bringing it in a big way.”

“Well, go ahead and bring it. Be careful out there. People get hurt. Oh, and by the way.” He held his wrist up and pointed at his wristlet. “These don't come in tiny.”

Shawn shook his head. “We'll just get a women's large.”

“Wow. I think I hate that guy.”

“Yeah, that's the way it usually goes when you meet your childhood heroes, Gus. Nothing but heartache and disappointment. Remember how sad you were when you ran into judge Reinhold at the dry cleaners?”

“Shawn, we need to get on this right away.”

“Yeah, for Juliet. She's had our backs, now we're gonna have her back.” They walked over to Juliet’s desk to see her now disassembling and assembling her side arm.

“Jules, you okay?”

“Fine.” She picked up her stopwatch. “26 seconds.”

“What are you doing?” Gus asked.

“Oh, I'm disassembling my side arm and then assembling it again. I time myself. It's an old academy stress exercise.”

“26 seconds, not bad. My record is 23.” Shawn walked around and stood on Juliet’s other side so that he and Gus could both see Juliet’s computer screen.

“What are you watching?”

“Oh, it's a video that a bystander took with his cell phone of Tancana escaping from the courthouse.”

Shawn scanned the video and noticed the bracelet Tancana was wearing. He didn’t even think about pretending to have a vision before he spoke.

“Is he diabetic or does he have a heart condition?”

“Yeah, he has a heart condition. How did you know that?”

“Oh, it came to me. Psychically. I just, you know, I didn't have the energy for the whole "hand to head" thing. My body aches and it’s a whole thing.”

“Did Tancana have any family in town that we know of?”

“Yes, he has a cousin who's a short order cook at Marvin's off La Cumbre. But hello, don't you think that's the first place we checked?” Juliet snapped at Gus.

“Yeah, hello, Gus. Look, we gotta go. But you have my word, we're gonna make this right.” Shawn patted Juliet’s shoulder with his good hand before he and Gus headed out of the station.

The two of them climbed into the Blueberry and Shawn had Gus drive them to Marvin’s.

“Juliet already said they checked there.”

“I know, but I have a feeling. We need to at least talk to the cousin, see what he knows.” Shawn popped a couple pain pills before trying to relax in his seat for the drive. It was difficult since every bump sent pain through his ribs.

“Are you sure you’re okay to do this case? I’m sure Lassiter would understand if you’re not up for it.”

“I’m fine, Gus. A little pain never hurt nobody.”

“That doesn’t make any sense Shawn.”

“Sure it does. Besides, Jules needs us on this case, so we’re taking it.”

They didn’t talk for the rest of the ride.

* * *

“I already told the blonde detective there; I haven't even spoken to my cousin in months. I thought he was in prison.”

Shawn and Gus stood behind the counter in Marvin’s, chatting with Tancana’s cousin.

“He was. Until this morning. When he jumped his arraignment and escaped from the courthouse. He's on the run.” Gus said.

“Well, that's awful. I'm in shock.”

“Yeah, you look like it.”

“Yeah, so much so you're just gonna drink some coffee, keep cooking.”

“Helps me cope.”

Shawn watched what the cook was doing and noticed him separating egg whites. That wasn’t food for any of the customers. Tancana had to be there. He pulled Gus away from the cousin. “Dude, Tancana's here.”

“What? How do you know he's here?”

“Look at those two truckers. They're the ones that ordered the burgers. That's why they're grappling over the ketchup. And look at that dude in the corner. Waitress already dropped off the Russian dressing. Which means he is waiting on the Rueben. But look what he's making in the corner there. Egg whites. That's not on the menu at a greasy spoon like this, I'll tell you that much. But it's just what a heart patient would eat to stay healthy.” Shawn motioned to the back room where they noticed someone move through the crack in the door. “Let's get him!”

“No, uh-uh, Shawn. No.”

“We're bounty hunters. That's what bounty hunters do.”

“We are not bounty hunters, Shawn. I'm a pharmaceutical salesman. And Lassiter made it very clear. We are not to go after Tancana. You’re in no shape to take down a criminal.”

“Fine, we’ll call Lassie.”

Right as Shawn went to pull out his phone, Byrd busted into the restaurant.

“Dwayne! Take off now!” The cousin called out and then proceeded to get in Byrd’s way.

Tancana tried to escaped but Byrd was too fast. He grabbed Tancana and shoved his face into the truckers’ hamburger. “Enjoying that hamburger, huh?” He quickly cuffed the fugitive, only to get headbutted by the larger man. He fell back into a nearby table. Tancana ran from the building.

Shawn and Gus ran out to the Blueberry. Gus put the keys in the ignition and grabbed his seatbelt. “We need to get out of here.”

Shawn grabbed the keys. “Wait, let's stop and think about this for a second.”

“I don't need to think about anything, Shawn! I wanna get out of here!” Gus took back the keys and started up the car. 

“But Gus, we were there! We saw him! What are we gonna tell Jules?” Shawn pulled on his seatbelt with one hand.

“Tell her you're gonna be late.” Tancana popped up in the back seat.

Shawn quickly reached for a gun that wasn’t there. Damn it.

“Uh, I think you're making a big mistake here.”

“We need to go.” Tancana looked out the front window and noticed Byrd was heading outside and straight for them.

“Drive, Gus, drive!”

Gus quickly backed up the car and drove off.

“Dude, we're, like, the best bounty hunters ever. The criminals come straight into our car. Already cuffed!”

Gus started driving towards the police station.

Tancana shimmied around in the backseat and quickly got his cuffed hands in front of him instead of behind his back. He started giving directions. “About another mile on this road, turn left on Cabrillo. I gotta make a stop at a house down there.”

Cabrillo? Shawn filed that information away for later. “Got some bad news for you, buddy. The only stop we'll be making is at the police station. I'm turning you in. 'Cause we are bounty hunters.”

“He's a bounty hunter. I'm a pharmaceutical salesman.”

“That's good. You're bounty hunters.” Tancana laughed at the idea.

“What is everybody's deal? Like, what is going on here? Is it because I'm not wearing the vest? Is that what it is?”

“It’s because you look like you got your ass kicked. You’re in no shape to be a bounty hunter.”

Shawn rolled his eyes. “You know what, the truth is, I'm a psychic detective. This is my partner, Galileo Humpkins.”

“You know, for the first time, I'm grateful you didn't use my real name.”

“All right, you one of those psychic people? One of those crystal ball people? Well, look into your crystal ball and see that I'm innocent. I didn't kill anybody.”

“Right, you just rob them.” Gus said.

“That's what I do. I'm a thief. But I'm not a killer. I had a partner in this one, Gord Delbecchio. Gord wanted me to break into the basement and disarm the alarm, so I did. Woman was killed in the bedroom on the second floor. And I swear I never even saw the lady.”

“Sure. That's why you ran?”

“If I was guilty, do you really think I would have stayed in this town?”

“That's what your attorney is for.”

“I don't have some slick attorney. I don't even have an attorney, man. I got a public defender. You know, I'm probably facing the chair on this one.”

Shawn wasn’t sure he believed what he was hearing, but it might be worth checking out. “Why didn't you tell the cops about Delbecchio?”

“If I let the cops try to find him, he'd be long gone by now.”

Shawn’s phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. He answered. “

“Lassie, what's happening? It's Lassie. Yes. Yes, I do know what it means to not go after a criminal. Wow, somebody didn't drink their grateful juice this morning. We're fine, okay? He's cuffed. I'm bringing him back in. You're welcome. Do me a favor, put Jules on the phone for a second. Jules! We’re on our way in. Mind calming Lassie down for me? We were going to call, but then Tancana literally jumped into our car. Now answer me this. What do you know about a Klaus Delbecchio?”

“Gord.”

“Gord Delbecchio.” Shawn listened as Jules told him not to believe Tancana. “Okay. Now admit it, Lassie’s a little turned on by the whole bounty hunter thing. I mean, I know the psychic and military thing is sexy. I mean, that's a given. It's a sexy thing- Hello? Jules? Jules?”

“I think she hung up, Shawn. She probably doesn’t want to think about what Lassiter thinks is sexy.”

“Look, we never made any actual cash from the Cole robbery. Delbecchio kept talking about working something a lot bigger. Said... bragging, blowing about all the cash he was gonna make. I think I know where's he's hiding out. It's only, like, five minutes out of the way. We swing by there, we check it out, and you'll know I'll telling the truth.”

Shawn contemplated what Tancana said, and decided they should definitely check out what Tancana was talking about. It couldn’t hurt to make sure they had the right guy.

“Shawn, what are you doing? What is that face, Shawn? I don't like that face.”

“I'm sensing something, Gus. That's what I do, I'm a psychic. I sense things, remember?”

“No, Shawn, you're not doing this to me again. No, not this time. Not with a criminal in the back of my car.”

“Gus, don't be a little girl about this, okay? It's only gonna take five minutes.”

“You are in no shape to investigate a case, Shawn. How many times do I have to say that? I'm the one driving this car right now. And this car is going to the police station. Where all the police are.”

* * *

Juliet was sitting at her desk when her desk phone rang. “Hello? Got it.” She hung up and grabbed her gun. “They've got him! Downstairs in his car!” She headed out of the station with Carlton and a few officers following behind her.

Juliet had her gun at the ready and was disappointed to see Tancana was gone, Gus was handcuffed to the Blueberry and Shawn was on the ground wheezing in pain. Gus looked both concerned for and angry at Shawn.

“Shawn!” Carlton hurried past Juliet who stopped walking in disappointment. Carlton dropped to his knees next to Shawn and helped him sit up. “What happened?”

Gus answered as Shawn breathed through his pain. “Tancana got the jump on us. He ended up elbowing Shawn in the ribs, then handcuffed me to the Blueberry.”

“I’m…fine.” Shawn leaned against Carlton as he helped the younger man stand.

Juliet finally got her bearings and came over to unlock the cuffs on Gus’ wrist. Gus nodded to Juliet in thanks.

The four of them headed back into the station with the other officers.

Carlton was angry but he let Shawn sit down at his desk before he said anything. “I told you not to go after Tancana. He’s dangerous!”

“We didn’t go after Tancana.” Shawn shifted, trying to get comfortable. “We went to the diner in search of answers to where he might be and the guy was just there. He literally jumped into our car, Lassie. What were we supposed to do?”

“Call me! If you had called me, I would have sent you backup and you never would have gotten hurt!”

“He elbowed me in the ribs. It’s not like he attacked me. I’m fine, Carlton.”

“I found you wheezing on the sidewalk, that’s not fine, Shawn.”

“Would you quit treating me like I’m a fragile little flower for five seconds? It was a little pain. I’ve had worse. I found Tancana like you wanted me to, I’m sorry it wasn’t in a way you approved. But he’s gone again, so if you don’t mind, Gus and I are going back out to find him.” Shawn stood up.

“No, you’re not. You’re off this case. Go home.”

“Carlton, come on. Jules needs our help. You can’t kick me off the case.”

“I can, and I am. Go home, Shawn.”

“Carly-.”

“Now.” Carlton walked over to Juliet so they could discuss where next to look for Tancana.

Shawn couldn’t believe his boyfriend right now; he was being completely ridiculous. They needed all hands-on deck to help out Juliet. There was no way he was backing off this case. Shawn headed over to where Gus was waiting and the two of them headed out of the station.

“I wanna thank you for a very colorful and eventful stint as a bounty hunter, Shawn. But consider me retired.”

Shawn ducked under the stair railing, causing Gus to flinch. When the coast was clear they kept walking.

“Well, look at it this way. Now you got a story if you ever go on Letterman.”

“Terrific. Now I'm gonna head home, take a long nap, and wait for the bruises to show up on my wrist.”

Shawn grabbed the keys out of Gus’ hands. “That actually sounds pretty good. I'll come along. It's been a long time since we've napped together. Let's make a quick stop first.”

* * *

Shawn and Gus road in Henry’s small boat. Shawn had sweat on his brow, the pain in his ribs from the rough water nearly unbearable, but he kept going. Gus didn’t seem to notice.

“This is not a quick stop, Shawn!”

“Sorry, my dad's boat only goes so fast.”

“I thought I was clear. I'm retired!”

Shawn ducked down again. Gus did the same before realizing it was ridiculous.

“Will you stop doing that?”

“He said take a right at Cabrillo, head for the pier to a house.”

“You do realize we're not on land anymore, right?”

“He said house. But what he meant was houseboat.” He pointed out the nearby houseboat. “It's not a tourist spot. That's not a fishing hole. There's no reason to be there.” He directed the boat next to the houseboat and cut the engine.

“I'm not getting on this boat, Shawn.”

“If Delbecchio's on the boat, he can hear us. Toss me that rope, buddy.” Gus tossed him the rope and Shawn tied up the boat. “Thanks. Now, listen, I'm okay with you staying on the boat. Just be careful of sharks. I'm not sure my dad's little skiff is shark safe.”

Shawn carefully climbed onto the larger boat, with Gus right on his heels. “Dude, I'm pretty sure this is the boat from dead calm.”

“Great, now we have to worry about Billy Zane too?”

They headed into house and Tancana met them inside with a fish bonker. “Psychic bloodhound just couldn't leave it be, huh?”

“Easy, easy. Take it easy.”

“I told you back at the station I'm gonna do what I have to do to clear my name. If that's coming to Delbecchio's hideout and finding the evidence, that's what I'm gonna do.”

“Okay. Why don't you just put down the fish bonker...You're making Gus very nervous. And let me do what it is I do, Dwayne. I can help you.”

“All right. Take a shot.” Tancana lowered the fish bonker.

“Thank you.” Shawn looked around the houseboat and noticed torn up money bands on the table. “Look at that. Money bands. Usually used to pack 2 or $3,000 stacks.”

“I told you he was working on some cash deal.”

“Yes, you did.”

“I think I just found his phone.” Gus held up a flip phone.

“Well, turn it on. What do you got?”

“Battery's dead.”

Shawn sighed. “Just hold on to it.” Shawn looked around some more and took note of a necklace that was also on the table. The weird shape was identical to the markings on the victim’s neck Shawn saw earlier.

Shawn held up the necklace to Gus’ neck just to confirm his suspicion. “I believe Isabella Cole was wearing this when she was killed. That puts Delbecchio at least close enough to the body to snatch this off. It's evidence. Circumstantial, but it could lead to something.”

A gunshot rang out and Gus ducked.

Shawn looked outside. “It's Byrd!” His phone rang and he dug it out of his pocket. “Hello? Dad! Hold on a sec.” He turned to Gus. “Are will still going to dinner at my dad's tonight?” Gus sent Shawn an irritated look. “Uh, look, we're gonna have to get back to you on that, Dad. We're in the middle of something. No, don't be ridiculous. We're just... we're sitting in the Psych office watching a movie. "Midnight Run". Have you seen it?” Shawn hung up.

“Give it up, peons!” Byrd yelled from outside.

The three of them ran to the back of the boat where Shawn had tied up his Dad’s boat. Tancana climbed in first and threatened Shawn and Gus with the fish bonker when they tried to follow. “No way. You two are not getting on this boat.” He untied the boat and took off, leaving Shawn and Gus to deal with Byrd.

They luckily convinced a pissed off Byrd to give them a ride back to shore.

“We should tell Lassiter about the boat and Tancana getting away, Shawn.”

“We’re off the case according to Lassie. If he wants to find that boat, he can do that himself.”

* * *

Shawn and Gus headed back to Marvin’s, because Shawn had a gut feeling that Juliet would be there since she wasn’t at the station when he called. “I told you she'd be here.”

“Wow, she really is taking this to heart.”

The two of them head inside and sit in the booth across from Jules.

“Hey, Jules, you okay?”

Juliet just stared off out the window.

“Juliet. What are you doing here? Catching up on some summer reading?”

“Gus and I were almost murdered here earlier, so we came back for sentimental reasons.”

“Do you know what it's like to have an internal voice that tells you what the right thing to do is all of the time and you do it, and it works and you're good at what you do, and then one day it just shuts off? And in that moment, there is no voice, and you just have to listen to yourself. And in an instant, in a millisecond, you make a tiny, but crucial mistake and screw up so badly it affects your whole life?”

Shawn felt for Juliet. He did, but he’d never really experienced that before. “No, I do not. But Gus here might.” Gus elbowed Shawn and Shawn flinched. “Look, I promise you, we're gonna find him. And we're gonna bring him back in.”

“How are you gonna do that, Shawn? You are off the case. Besides, I have been through everything. I have combed these photos over and over again looking for anything, any clues, and I keep coming up with a big, fat zero.” Juliet climbed out of the booth and started to gather up the files. Shawn laid his hand on Jules, to stop her.

“So what are you doing? You're just giving up?” Gus asked.

“No, I just have to go back to the station to deal with something.”

Shawn looked at the files and Jules sighed. “Be my guest.” She left without the files.

Gus and Shawn each took a file and started looking through them.

Gus pointed out a specific tattoo he saw. “They photographed his tattoos. Look at this one. It looks handmade, like a prison tattoo. Barb. It could be a girlfriend or an ex. We can cross check for women named Barb or Barbara who may have run in his circles. He could be hiding out with her.”

Shawn looked at the tattoo and noticed it said Bar 13 instead of Barb. “Gus?”

“What?”

“You're a genius.”

They headed out of the restaurant.

* * *

Shawn and Gus arrived at Bar 13, which turned out to be a biker bar. They headed inside and stuck out like a sore thumb.

“Not exactly family friendly here.” Gus said.

“Just pretend like we're in Road House.”

“Fine, but I'm Patrick Swayze.”

“Sam Elliott.” Shawn claimed. They reached the bar. “Excuse me, good sir? I'd like to see a list of your California whites, please.”

The bartender was not impressed. “Listen, I don't know which fraternity dared you to walk in here, but you better run on back to campus before you get beat so bad, it's gonna hurt to cry.” He looked Shawn over. “Or beat again.”

“Actually, we're meeting a friend here. Dwayne Tancana. You know him?”

“Never heard of him.”

“Mm, bummer.”

“Let's go.” Gus whispered to Shawn.

“Dude, I got this.” Shawn turned back to the bartended. “Really! I don't think you're telling me the truth, giant guy. I know he's here. About yay high, covered in tats. Pisces. Loves to run. Look, let's not play games. Don't embarrass yourself with this tough guy routine. Tell you what, I'm gonna count to three. One. Two-.”

In seconds they were surrounded by the patrons of the bar. They were quickly manhandled and chained at the ankles before being hoisted into the air and hung upside down. Shawn almost blacked out from the pain he was immediately in.

“Nice work, Shawn.” Gus was not impressed, but Shawn didn’t hear him. He was white as a sheet. They hung like that for several minutes before they heard Tancana coming through the crowd.

“I got it! I said, I got it.”

Shawn noticed Tancana through dotted vision. “There you are!”

“They came here looking for me, so I got it. Now let' em down.”

The bartender quickly let them down and Shawn immediately leaned against Gus once he was on his own two feet. His vision slowly cleared.

“I gotta say, I'm impressed, Shawn. Beginning to believe this whole psychic ability thing. You tracked me here. That is impressive.”

Shawn was slightly out of breath when he spoke. “Dwayne.”

“Mm-hmm?”

“What I really need from you is to let us take you back to the police station and into custody?” Shawn didn’t sound as confident as he had planned.

“If you two try to take me in, my friends will kill you. And if by some strange stroke of luck, you manage to get me hand cuffed, I'll escape, because I've done it before. There's a way out, though. I'll walk out the front door with you, just the three of us. If... if you use your psychic ability to help me find Delbecchio. Prove my innocence. So, you got a decision to make. Are you going to accept my generous offer, or am I gonna turn you over to my friends? They don't play nice.”

Shawn glanced at Gus before nodding. “I'll do it.”

* * *

The three of them headed to towards the Psych office but had to quickly turn around when they spotted Byrd hanging out waiting for them. Instead, they headed to Henry’s place.

Once they got there, Gus immediately plugged in the phone and Shawn got them all drinks while they waited for it to turn on. They waited impatiently, hoping Henry wouldn’t come in while they were there. Sadly luck wasn’t on their side because in walked Henry, five minutes after they got there.

“Oh, hey, Shawn!”

“Hey, dad!”

“You're early, aren't you?”

“Oh, we're excited! We're gonna eat.”

Henry finally got a good look at his son and he hated what he saw. His son was sweating from pain and looked like hell. “What the hell happened to you?”

“I really rather not talk about it.”

At that moment, Tancana walked into the kitchen from the living room. Henry immediately recognized him from the news.

“Shawn! What is a wanted criminal doing in my house?”

“Wanted criminal? Dad your crazy. I would never bring a criminal into your house.”

“Shawn.”

“Okay, fine, we’re working on proving his innocence, we are just waiting for this phone to turn on and then we’re out of here.”

“Get him out of my house Shawn before I call someone.”

“Got it!” The phone turned on and was good to go.

“Alright, fine, Dad, we’re gone. But we’ll have to pass on dinner. Rain check?”

The three of them headed back to the Blueberry. Shawn opened the phone when they got in the car and told Gus to head to the Meadow Parking Garage.

At the garage they stumbled upon the dead body of Gord Delbecchio. Then Byrd showed up and left with a handcuffed Tancana. Shawn checked out the body and he and Gus both recognized the smell on Delbecchio’s hands. Shawn quickly pieced together who the killer was, and they headed back to the station.

They met Byrd and Tancana outside and traded Tancana for a fake $50,000 in a briefcase. Byrd pulled a gun on them and that is when Juliet and Carlton burst out of the station, guns pointed at Byrd. They all headed into the station, Byrd and Tancana in cuffs. Shawn then revealed to them all that Mr. Cole was actually the murderer, not Tancana. After revealing some facts psychically, Carlton arrested Mr. Cole as well.

After the big reveal, Shawn basically dropped dead into Carlton’s chair, in severe pain from everything that day. He felt ready to cry, and that was something he never did when it came to pain. Gus leaned against Carlton’s desk while the two detectives handled the criminals.

“Shawn, are you okay?”

“…Just peachy, buddy.”

“Don’t lie to me, Shawn.”

“…then I’m not doing great. It’s kinda hard to breathe, and I’m exhausted.”

“Want me to take you home?”

“Gotta talk to Lassie first. Rather get my lecture now than later.”

Carlton and Juliet came back upstairs from the holding cells. Carlton headed over to Shawn immediately, with Juliet following. Gus stood up and moved out of the way, so that Carlton could get to his boyfriend. Carlton perched on the edge of his desk in front of Shawn and laid a gentle hand on his boyfriend’s cheek. “How are you feeling, Shawn?”

“Like shit, Lassie, so if you’re going to lecture me, do it fast. I want to go home.”

“…I told you not to go after Tancana, you obviously weren’t ready for this case.”

“…had to prove you were blaming the wrong guy…had a psychic feeling that Tancana wasn’t guilty of murder.”

Carlton rolled his eyes at the “psychic” nonsense. “You should have called for help.”

“You kicked me off the case, Lassie-face, you wouldn’t have listened to me anyway.”

Carlton lowered his voice a bit. “I always listen to you Shawn. I was just looking out for you when I kicked you off the case.”

“…I know Lassie, but I know my own limits. I obviously got through the case just fine, you got to trust me to take care of myself.”

Carlton nodded. “You’re right, but you also push yourself further than you should… I mean look at you, you’re sweating from pain and can barely stay conscious.”

“…true, you got me there, Carly.”

“I can be done here in a few minutes, want to ride home with me, or is Gus taking you back?”

“If you’re almost done, I can wait for you.” He glanced at Gus, who nodded and waved goodbye before leaving.

“I gotta grab some paperwork, and then we can leave. I’ll be right back.” Carlton left.

Juliet was still there and walked over to Shawn. “Thanks for the help with Tancana, Shawn.”

Shawn smiled. “Anything for you, Jules.”

Juliet smiled and walked off to get started on her report.

* * *

Shawn was nudged awake a few minutes later when Carlton was done. Carlton helped Shawn to his feet and then proceeded to help his boyfriend out to his car. Shawn fell asleep again on the way home, and Carlton had to wake him up again when they got to his house.

Carlton basically carried Shawn into the house and helped the man change and climb into bed. Shawn was out like a light in moments of hitting the pillow. Carlton changed and sat on his side of the bed. He filled out his report while Shawn slept, and then went to bed when he finished.

He laid a hand on Shawn’s arm and quickly fell asleep once he was reassured Shawn was okay and sleeping peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Quick question for y'all: I was wondering. Should I continue to do the chapters in order? Or should I jump around on the episodes? I was thinking of skipping around a bit and do the more interesting episodes. What are your guys' thoughts? If you don't care, what episodes should I do? Thanks, y'all!


	13. Christmas

Following the Tancana case, Shawn spent several days just resting up. Gus spent his free time watching movies with Shawn at Lassie’s house, and only left when Lassie came home from work. In the evenings, Shawn relaxed with his boyfriend. They ate dinner and watched TV while Lassie kept him up to date on his latest cases, at least what he was able to talk about.

By the time Shawn’s bruises were a mix of yellows and browns, Shawn was going crazy just sitting around all day. He convinced Gus to take him out of the house so that he could get Lassie’s Christmas gift ordered and then they spent the rest of the day doing shopping for others at the police station.

That evening, Shawn and Lassie discussed their Christmas plans, since it was just a week away. Lassie didn’t have any plans, and Shawn was invited to the Gusters’ a few days before Christmas.

“You should come with me, Lassie.”

“You still haven’t told Henry about us, much less the Gusters. I’ll just relax that evening, maybe work some overtime.” Carlton was a little offended that Shawn hadn’t told his father about them yet, but knew Shawn’s relationship with his dad was complicated. He didn’t want to push his boyfriend to tell anyone if he wasn’t comfortable. Especially since he hadn’t even told him own mother yet.

“Right. I should probably tell my dad soon, but then he’ll want to formally meet you as my boyfriend, and he’ll make it a whole thing. But you can’t just sit here on your lonesome, Lassie-frass. It’s the Christmas season. We’ll find something for you to do.”

“I’ll be fine, Shawn.”

“Maybe Jules won’t have any plans.”

“I don’t need a babysitter for Christmas.”

“Whatever you say, Carly. I’ll be free on Christmas Day, because my dad and I do our stuff on Christmas Eve. So I’ll be all yours on Christmas.”

“Sounds perfect.” He kissed Shawn’s unmarked cheek. Shawn leaned into his boyfriend’s side.

* * *

A couple days later Shawn and Gus went into the police station to deliver gifts to the officers. They started with Buzz, giving him a Daisy Red Ryder BB Gun. Then they gave Jules a kitty toy, telling her that he cat Mr. Mittens didn’t blame her and it felt like going to sleep. Jules was thrilled to hear that.

The two of them then headed over to Lassie’s desk and dread filled Shawn’s gut. All over Lassie’s desk were snow globes. Shit. “Gus grab a trash bag, we have to get rid of these.” He looked around and was glad Lassie wasn’t anywhere in sight.

“What, why?”

“Just, Lassie hates snow globes, okay? Get a trash bag.” Shawn’s tone was deadly serious, and Gus went off to find a trash bag.

Shawn put down the bag of gifts they brought for everyone and kept an eye out for Lassie. When he spotted Lassiter coming up the stairs, he rushed over and stood in his boyfriend’s way. “Lassie! Don’t you have some criminals to interrogate downstair?”

Carlton gave Shawn a weird look. “…No? I have some reports to fill out at my desk. So if you’d kindly move out of my way-.” Carlton moved to step around him, but Shawn stayed in his path.

“I’m pretty sure you have stuff to do downstairs, for 10 minutes at least.”

“What are you hiding, Shawn?”

“Absolutely nothing-.”

“Shawn.”

Shawn cringed. “There may or may not be a ton of snow globes on your desk, because I may or may not have told Buzz as a joke that you like snow globes and he must have told the whole station.”

“You what?” Carlton’s voice cracked slightly.

“Gus is getting a trash bag and we’ll get rid of them, don’t worry, I just need a few minutes.” He spotted Gus coming back with a trash bag.

“Why would you-.”

“Because I wasn’t thinking and thought it’d be something we could laugh about, but clearly I was wrong and I feel terrible. Just let me fix this.”

Carlton was clearly still trying to process what Shawn had been saying after he first said snow globe, so Shawn gently nudged Carlton down the stairs. “Just give me a few minutes, Carly, and everything will be fine.”

Once Carlton walked downstairs, Shawn hurried over to his boyfriend’s desk. He and Gus made quick work of the snow globes and Shawn told Gus to toss them into the dumpster outside.

“I still don’t see what the big deal is.” Gus hoisted the bag over his shoulder.

Shawn lowered his voice. “He has this recurring nightmare about snow globes and its bad. Just get rid of them. Please. I fucked up.”

“Yeah, okay. I’ll be right back.” Gus headed outside of the station.

Shawn texted an all-clear message to Lassie, and was chilling at his desk when his boyfriend reappeared from downstairs. Lassie quickly scanned his desk for snow globes and relaxed when he saw none. He ushed Shawn out of his chair and took a seat. He pulled out his paperwork, not saying a word to Shawn.

“Would it help if I got on my knees and begged you to forgive?”

“Not now, Shawn. Go pester someone else.”

Well fuck. Shawn knew he screwed up big, but he hadn’t meant any harm. He just thought one snow globe from McNab would cause a little hubbub, something they could laugh over that night. He didn’t mean to have the whole station get his beautiful boyfriend a bunch of his greatest fear.

Shawn walked away like a kicked puppy. He walked back over to Jules’ desk as Gus joined him. Both of them noticed Shawn’s forlorn expression, but Shawn quickly masked it with a fake smile. “So what are your plans for Christmas, Jules?”

Jules and Gus shared a look before she spoke. “My family is coming to town.”

“O’Hara’s family Christmas, huh?”

“My family's Christmases are the best with traditional Scottish games and music and crafts. You guys should totally come by tonight if you'd like.”

“I do love a Scottish craft. But, uh, my father and I have been invited over to the Gusters for an old-fashioned holiday dinner.”

“Maybe next time.”

Shawn glanced over at Carlton. “I can think of someone who could use a little cheer this time of year. Recently divorced, with a boyfriend that’s busy, leaving him all alone for the holidays tonight.”

“That’s a great idea, Shawn. I’ll definitely invite Carlton over.” Jules smiled and stood up to do just that.

Shawn and Gus gave out the rest of their gifts before heading out of the station. Lassie still wouldn’t even glance at Shawn, ruining his cheery holiday mood.

“You want to talk about the Lassiter thing?”

“Not even kind of.” Shawn changed the subject. “Y’know, in over 20 years of friendship, I can count on one shop teacher's hand, the number of times your folks have had us over. I assume it's because they can't stand my father. Understandably.”

“Well, I wouldn't necessarily say that.”

“What would you say necessarily?”

“Let's just say it's not because of your dad.”

Shawn didn’t get it. “Your house is too small? Didn't have enough extra chairs?”

“No.”

“Hiding a Jewish family in your attic?”

“No.”

“Wait a minute.” Shawn stood in front of Gus, stopping them from walking. “It's not because of me. Gus?”

Gus shrugged.

“I can't believe this. I feel like Pepe Le Pew when he looked up pew in the dictionary. Le Pew. What? No.”

“My parents always thought you were a bad influence on me. Understandably.”

“A bad influence?”

“Yes.”

“Dude, that's absurd.”

“Because of you, Shawn, I got my first "B," broke my first curfew, accidentally killed the state bird-.”

“How was I supposed to know he couldn't hold his own liquor? Now I know what to get your parents for Christmas.”

“What?”

“I'm gonna lead 'em on a walk down memory lane, and give them the gift of seeing what a positive influence I have been on their son.” They walked out of the station. “I mean even with the military thing, I’m still a bad influence?”

“They don’t know you’re in the military, Shawn. You told me not to tell anyone, and then you were here under the radar. I never told them.”

“Well, you have to tell them before I show up looking like I was beaten half to death.”

“You were.”

“But they’re going to think it was while I did something immature. You have to tell them.”

“Okay, Shawn, I’ll tell them before you come over.”

“Thank you.”

* * *

After a whole day without a single text from Carly, Shawn was on edge and in a bad mood. Not to mention his casted arm itched and his ribs were still sore. He arrived at his dad’s so that they could go over to dinner together. He watched as his dad carried in a tree from his truck.

“Dad, why do you insist on getting a real tree? You probably chopped down some poor animal's home.”

“Yeah, that's the vicious little bastard right there.” He pointed at a fake squirrel sitting on his mantle.

“Can we go, please?”

“Whoa, Shawn, Shawn?”

“Look, I don't wanna be late to the Gusters. It's important that this dinner go well.”

“Aren't you forgetting something? Your gift.” Henry held out his gift to Shawn and Shawn smiled a little. He took it.

“Go on. Shake it, rattle it, feel it, sniff it. Do whatever the hell you want with it before it goes in that stocking. Then you got one week to figure out what it is.”

“Dad, this ridiculous competition means way more to you than it does to me.”

“That's why you haven't won since you were eight-years-old.”

“Christmas '92 was a draw. You know that.”

“Oh, so you do care. Go on.”

Shawn held it up to his eye. He already knew what it was. This was just for show. “That's it.”

“That's it? You're sure?”

“That's all I need.”

“Oh, here's yours. Merry Christmas.” Shawn pulled Henry’s small gift out of his pocket and handed it over.

“You are never...”

“Shh. Wait-wait-wait.” Henry shook it and listened to it.

“All right, time's up. In the stockings they go.”

“I'm gonna figure it out, Shawn. I always do.”

They looked at each other and dropped their gifts into the stocking at the same time. The two of them then headed out to the truck for the short drive to the Gusters.

“So when are you going to tell me about who you’ve been dating?”

“What?” Shawn did not see that question coming.

“I know you’re dating someone, Shawn. You’re coming home more, and you came home injured, something you wouldn’t do just to see Gus.”

“Well I have Psych now. I need to come home for cases.”

“But not when you’re this injured. You wouldn’t get on a plane unless you had someone to see.”

Shawn didn’t answer. He didn’t like it, but his father’s logic was sound.

“So who is it? Someone I know?”

Shawn seriously didn’t want to talk about this, especially not in his sour mood. “Can we just focus on having a decent dinner?”

“Why are you so focused on this dinner going well?” Henry let his son change the topic.

“Because the Gusters think I’m a bad influence on Gus, and I want to prove them wrong.”

“You were a bad influence on Gus, son. You can’t change that.”

“I was not, I just nudged Gus to try new things. Besides, I’m a great influence now.”

“Yes, because lying to the police is a fantastic thing to teach Gus.”

Shawn didn’t even bother to respond.

* * *

Shawn, Henry, Gus and Mr. Guster sat around the table waiting for Mrs. Guster to come in with the food.

“Turkey's ready!” Mrs. Guster announced, entering the dining room with a platter of turkey.

“Finally!” Henry was starved.

“It smells good, Winnie.” Mr. Guster said.

“Why smell it when you can taste it?”

“Speaking of smoked turkey, you know why Gus isn't a smoker? 'Cause when we were kids I made him smoke an entire pack of cigarettes, and he discovered he hated the taste. Pretty good influence if I do say so myself.” Shawn ignored Gus’s dirty look.

“Probably what gave him asthma.” Winnie said.

“Probably what stunted his growth too.” Mr. Guster added.

“I'm five-ten-and-a-half.”

“We hear you, son. We hear ya.”

“Gus, you're tall enough. Shawn, you're an idiot, and to be fair, there's a lot of complicated causes for asthma. Now, let's eat.” Henry reached for food and Shawn slapped his hand.

“You know, it was actually Gus' asthma medication that first interested him in pharmaceuticals. So, you're welcome for that.”

“You made your point, Shawn.” Henry said. “You're a good friend.”

“Yes, you're very close. So close, I wonder if he wouldn't be married by now if he wasn't spending so much time with you.”

“I’m gone a lot, he spends plenty of time alone.” Shawn said, but was ignored.

“Trust me. I get mine. I mean... I'm just waiting for Mrs. Right.”

“We at least thought you'd have a house by now.” Mr. Guster added.

“I have time. The market's still cooling off.”

“Yeah. So's the food.” Henry hated that the food was getting cold.

“You won't have time if you keep using all your extra energy with this gypsy detective agency nonsense you two have cooked up.”

“Mrs. G. It's a psychic detective agency. Psych.”

“And how does this differ from that pet baptism business you had as kids?”

“First of all, that was an LLC. And this is a legitimate business. When I’m in town we do good work for the police.”

“Dangerous work. Likely how you got yourself injured.”

Shawn shot Gus a look. Gus just shrugged and finally started cutting the turkey.

“I didn’t get injured because of Psych. I’m-.”

“Shawn’s in the military. Sergeant in the Special Forces. A green beret. Now let’s all eat-.” Henry was once again cut off, this time by chuckles from the two Guster parents.

“Sure, military.”

“That definitely sounds like Shawn.”

“He’s serious.” Gus said.

The chuckles died down as the two Gusters noticed the serious looks around the table. “Oh we had no idea.” Winnie said.

“How interesting.”

The dinner fell into awkward silence as food was finally passed around.

* * *

Following dinner, they all joined a couple neighbors outside for some caroling. Its while they were singing carols that they found the body of their neighbor Old Man Fuller. This led Shawn to call Lassie, while Gus called 9-1-1.

Shawn was glad that Carlton even answerer his call. “Lassie!”

“What do you want, Shawn? I’m busy.”

Shawn cringed at Carlton’s tone. “So after dinner with the Gusters, which didn’t go well, we decided to join the neighbors for caroling. We were-.”

“I’m hanging up now.”

“Wait! There’s a body.”

“Why didn’t you start with that? Where?”

Shawn listed off the address and Carlton hung up before he could get in another word. Shawn officially hated being in the doghouse. He walked back over to everyone else and they waited for the cops to show up.

Carlton showed up right before the beat cops. They quickly ushered everyone away from the house and marked off the crime scene. Gus and Shawn slipped back inside while the cops did their thing. They cut down the body and then the photographer started taking photos. Carlton investigated the scene.

Shawn glanced around and picked up different things. First, there was no way the man could have killed himself that way. There was a cut on the man’s head, a spill stain on his shirt. His dinner cup was broken, and he had circled future shows in the TV Guide. Interesting. Carlton was on the phone with the Chief, letting her know it was an apparent suicide, but Shawn wasn’t so sure.

“Dude, what if this wasn't suicide? What if this was murder?”

“Shawn, it's Christmas time. Can you please leave work at the office? They've already moved on.”

“Look, there is no way that an 80-year-old man in Fuller's condition could have hoisted himself over that bannister. And check it out. He was clearly looking forward to watching some tv tonight. While he ate his lobster.”

Gus considered his words. “You may be on to something.”

“Plus, I psych it up nice for your parents, they might be impressed, you know? Throw in a little razzle dazzle. Maybe they realize I'm not such a bad influence after all.”

“Which may get them off my case for deciding to go into business with you.”

“Now you're feeling me.”

Henry poked his head into the house. “Are you guys coming or what?”

“Sure thing, Pop.” He started to follow his dad out the door then stopped when the body was wheeled over. “Stop! I'm sensing something.”

Henry and Gus’ parents came into the house.

“What is it, Shawn?” Gus asked. “Is it like the other 26 and a half crimes we solved for the police department?”

Shawn pretended to have a vision. “I'm sensing a struggle. Fuller's unconscious.”

“No, he was just an old man with a little soft skull.”

Shawn used his Santa hat and mimicked a rope being wrapped around a neck or attempted to with his right arm still in a cast. “Oh, someone's wrapping a rope around his neck! What I'm sensing here, ladies and gentlemen, is murder.”

Carlton walked over, unimpressed. “Spencer, old people are always offing themselves during the holidays.”

Buzz joined them. “Well, according to CSU, Shawn might be right.” He held up a pad of paper with notes scrawled on it.

“Let me see that. Blunt force trauma, signs of struggle.”

“My Lord. He really is psychic.” Mr. Guster said.

“Maybe we were wrong about the boys working together... This time.” Winnie agreed.

Carlton wasn’t thrilled to admit that Shawn was right. “Right. Get him outta here. It's an open crime scene, people, I need witness statements from each and every one of you carolers.” He glanced at his watch. “Crap, I'm running late.”

“Lassie, come on, man. Handle your business. Go hang out with Jules. Gus and I will take 'em down to the station tomorrow.”

“Alright, thanks.” Carlton started to head for the door, but Shawn grabbed his arm and stopped him. Carlton lowered his voice. “Not here, not now, Shawn.”

“…I was just going to say, stop by the bakery for a dessert on your way. Its rude to show up without something to a family event.”

Carlton nodded. “Thanks.” He left without another word.

Henry noticed the small exchange between Shawn and Carlton with interest.

* * *

Carlton climbed out of his car and grabbed the blueberry pie he bought. He looked at the house, covered in lights and immediately felt nervous. Families didn’t like him, he knew that. But he was going to try since O’Hara was nice enough to invite him over. He sighed and headed up to the front door. He knocked.

O’Hara answered. “Carlton! Hi! I'm so glad you could make it!” She pulled him into a quick hug then closed the door behind him. “I hope you're in a hogmanay mood.”

“I doubt it. Whatever that is.”

“The first footer!” The family yelled from the den.

At Carlton’s confused look, O’Hara explained. “Oh, the first footer, it's Scottish tradition to celebrate the first visitor of the holidays. You.”

Carlton nodded.

“And you brought pie!” She smiled and took the pie from his hands. “Perfect, the first footer traditionally brings a gift of food.”

Carlton smiled, glad he had done something right, even if it was Shawn who gave him the idea.

“Come on, lets go put this is the kitchen.” O’Hara led the way to the kitchen and Carlton followed. She set the pie on the counter with other food and then led Carlton over to the kitchen table where her nephews were sitting.

“So these are my nephews. Drake, Finn, and Isaac. Boys, this is Detective Lassiter. He works with Auntie Julie. I was helping them with their Christmas crafts. It's always my favorite part.”

The kids all started to pull Juliet over to see their crafts. “Look at this, Auntie Julie!”

“Look at mine!”

“Oh, my goodness. This looks fantastic, but you know, maybe Detective Lassiter would like to help out.”

Carlton immediately looked uncomfortable, but Juliet looked insistent. “Sure. All right, fellas, what do we got going on here? Well, you know, Drake, technically Jesus was born around April, so we need to get rid of this winter foliage.” He removed the foliage from the kid’s craft. “Oh, and, Finn, the word manger actually refers to the wooden feeding trough that the animals used, so let's put baby Jesus in this little shot glass.” He dropped Jesus into a shot glass and handed it to Finn. “Perfect. Well, you know, based on how far they had to travel, all the experts agree that the wise men didn't really get there until Jesus was two, so let's get rid of them.” He started to remove the Wise Men, but Juliet stopped him.

“Uh, Carlton. Remember, this is for the children.”

Carlton nodded. “Right. Let's do one with Santa in it. Hand me Kris Kringle there, guys.”

“That's a great idea!”

“You know, interestingly enough, the Dutch version of Santa used slaves to deliver the toys.” Carlton glanced at Juliet and by the look on her face, and the look of fear on the kids’ faces, he knew he’d screwed up. Great.

* * *

Shawn got home to an empty house. He was hopeful that Carly wasn’t mad enough to kick him out or anything. He used his key and let himself inside. He changed into sweats before lounging on the couch and flipping through channels while he waited for Carly to get home. An hour later he heard Carlton’s car park outside. He muted the TV and waited for his boyfriend to come inside.

Carlton entered his house and noticed a nervous looking Shawn on his couch. With the stress of dealing with O’Hara’s family, he had completely forgotten about his disagreement with Shawn. He sighed. He toed his shoes off by the door and slipped off his suit jacket. He threw the jacket onto the back of the couch. “…can we not deal with this tonight? I’m exhausted.”

“Sure thing, Carly…do you want me to sleep on the couch?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, you’re still healing. You can’t sleep on the couch.”

Shawn nodded. He usually greeted his boyfriend with a hug or kiss, but he held himself back and instead just fidgeted where he was sitting, looking like a lost puppy.

Carlton almost smiled at the sight. “Come on, Shawn.” He held out a hand to the younger man.

Shawn quickly turned off the TV and jumped off the couch. He took Carlton’s hand and the two of them headed into the bedroom. Carlton changed and then joined Shawn in bed. His boyfriend hesitated then kissed his cheek before laying down. Shawn still couldn’t cuddle well with his injuries, so he laid on his back and closed his eyes.

He sighed in relief when Carlton laid his hand on his arm.

* * *

Carlton woke up by his alarm to see that Shawn wasn’t in bed. He climbed out of bed and found Shawn in the kitchen making pineapple pancakes. Shawn greeted him with a kiss to the cheek and handed him a mug of hot coffee.

“Thanks. How long have you been up?” He sat down at the table.

Shawn brought Carlton a plate of plain pancakes with warm syrup. “Awhile.”

“Memories again?”

“No. I couldn’t sleep because…god Lassie.” Shawn leaned against the table next to Carlton. “You told me that fear in consequence.”

“Confidence.” Carlton looked up at his Shawn.

“I’ve heard it both ways. But that doesn’t matter. You told me that fear and I abused your trust. I used your fear for a joke and it was the farthest thing from funny…Lassie, I’m so sorry.”

Carlton looked down at his plate. “…You shouldn’t have done that, Shawn.”

“I know, and I’ll do anything to make it up to you, Carly-cakes. I swear, whatever you want. I’m so so so sorry.”

Carlton could hear the pain and sincerity in Shawn’s words, and he honestly didn’t even want to be mad. He was mainly just hurt, and he knew Shawn was truly sorry. He looked back up at him and laid a hand on his cheek. “I believe you, Shawn.”

“It won’t ever happen again. I promise. Just let me make it up to you.”

“And how do you plan to do that?”

“Well for starters, you have a little time before work.” Shawn gently straddled Carlton’s lap, careful of his ribs.

“You’re in no shape to-.”

“Maybe not, but I could definitely do plenty for you.” Shawn leaned down and started kissing and nipping Carlton’s neck.

Carlton hummed. “…I do have a few minutes.”

* * *

Carlton got to the station in a pretty decent mood. The first thing he did was check up on the work from crime scene the night before and then he headed over to O’Hara’s desk.

“Good morning, Carton.” O’Hara smiled up at her partner.

“Good morning, O’Hara. I just wanted to apologize for last night. I’m not great with…people, and that showed. I hope I didn’t ruin your guys’ night.”

“Oh don’t apologize, Carlton. My nephews ended up thinking you were funny, and my family thought it was great to meet the man I work with every day. You’re welcome back any time.”

“That’s sweet, but-.”

“I mean in, Carlton. Seriously.”

Carlton nodded. “You want to go over our latest case?”

“Absolutely.”

* * *

Once Carlton left for work, Shawn invited Gus over to eat the pineapple pancakes. After they ate, they went to pick up Gus’ parents and took them to the police station to give their statements. They checked them in as guests then walked over to the conference room where Carly and Jules were.

“Yo! We're here to give our official statements for the Fuller case.”

Shawn noticed Carly and Jules both become slightly uncomfortable.

“Yes. About that. Um, our investigation has confirmed Mr. Spencer's hunches.” Carlton said.

“Ah, really? It was murder.”

“That's 27 and counting.” Gus told his parents.

“Do you folks mind coming on in for a moment? Just have a seat. Make yourselves comfortable. Chairs right over there. I thought we could, uh, have more privacy this way.”

Shawn was immediately suspicious. “Why? What, is there a problem?”

“Well, this report says that there were traces of weed killer found in Mr. Fuller's system.”

“Poison. I sensed that as well.” Shawn held up his good hand to his temple.

“There's just one slight problem, we found a box of the same type of weed killer on Mr. Guster's property. Can you explain that?”

“Whoa, whoa, now. Slow your roll. I can explain that. Me and Fuller had a long-time feud about the property line. And every now and then I'd poison his shrubs because he refused to cut them back.” Mr. Guster explained.

“Bill, that's not like you.” Winnie said.

“How about this? Blunt force trauma to the head of the deceased was caused by a bloody hammer found nearby with prints belonging to a Mr. William Guster.” Carlton added.

“Yeah, but if you'd looked a little closer, you would have found a hacksaw and a pickaxe with my prints on them too. Fuller had been taking my tools for years. That's another reason we'd been feuding.”

“Another perfectly reasonable explanation.” Shawn said.

“Just one more thing, the rope to hang Mr. Fuller matches rope used from a boat belonging to-.”

“Lemme guess. Me.” Bill laughed along with everyone else but the detectives.

“Dad, you're crazy.”

“Mr. G.”

“Wait. You mean it really was mine? Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Look, I just said that to be funny. I have no idea how it got there.”

“I am sorry, Mr. Guster, the evidence is strong enough. You have the right to remain silent.”

“What?”

“You give up that right, anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have a right to an attorney.” Carlton led Bill out of the room. Juliet followed.

Winnie, Shawn and Gus were in shock at what just happened.

“Shawn.”

“I’ll go talk to Lassie, see what the hell’s going on. Don’t worry Mrs. G. We’ll get this figured out.” Shawn walked out of the room and went to sit at Lassie’s desk to wait for his boyfriend.

Carlton came back upstairs 20 minutes later, not at all surprised to see Shawn waiting for him. He walked over to his desk.

“Why the hell couldn’t you have given me a heads up?” 

“Because you would have informed the Gusters and then Mr. Guster could have made a run for it.”

“Run for it? You saw his face in there. He had nothing to do with this.”

“The evidence is stacked against him, Shawn. It’s pretty damning.” He handed Shawn the case file.

Shawn flipped through it and sadly had to agree with Carly. It was good evidence. He sighed. “Just, next time you arrest a friend’s parent, I’d really like a heads up.” He gave the file back. He had no idea what he was going to tell Gus.

“I’ll try to give you a heads up.” Carlton glanced over at Jules who was getting ready to wrap up her day and spend some more time with her family. “O’Hara invited me to come back over later today. Would you like to join me?”

“We have a very important case to solve here Lassie, we don’t have time for breaks. We gotta get Mr. G out of that holding cell.”

“It’d just be for an hour or so…I could really use the backup.”

Shawn could read Lassie like an open book. The man really wanted him there. “Sure Lassie, but only if it doesn’t impede the investigation.”

“Of course not, Shawn. I’ll be going over during my lunch break.”

“Okay. Just give me a call and I’ll be there.”

Carlton nodded.

“Now I have to go break some bad news to Gus.” Shawn stood up and headed back to the conference room. On his way, his dad called. “Dad, I’m a little busy. Mr. G just got arrested for Old Man Fuller’s death. Sure, yeah, okay.” He hung up and entered the conference room. “Don’t worry Mrs. G. Gus and I are gonna take this case and get down to the bottom of this.”

Winnie did not look reassured.

“Oh also, my dad invited you guys over for an early lunch.”

“That sounds lovely, Shawn.”

With that said, the three of them headed for Henry’s place.

* * *

Henry let the three of them inside and they all convened in the dining room.

“It's very nice of you to invite us over.”

“Oh, Winnie, it's the least I could do. Now when is Bill gonna be released from custody?”

“Soon I hope. A thing like this could be devastating to somebody with delicate health, a weak disposition.”

“We're gonna get dad out before anything can happen to him.” Gus said.

“I was talking about you.” Henry smirked. “Your father's strong as an ox, but you, lord knows you have enough stress to deal with as it is.” Winnie sent Shawn a pointed look.

“Mrs. G., you have my word, everything will be fine. Like I said at the station, we're gonna take this case.”

“Yeah.” Gus agreed.

“Shawn, maybe we oughta get some food together here.” Henry and Shawn headed into the kitchen. “Maybe you oughta pass on this one.”

“I can't, dad. I owe it to them.”

“Look, the Gusters are nice people, okay? They invite you over for dinner at 6:00. They don't serve till 6:30. So what? The point is, as a rule, you never wanna get involved in a case where personal relationships are involved.”

“Dad, I think I can handle it.”

“What if Gus's dad is guilty?”

“Are you out of your mind? How could you even say that?”

“That's what I mean. Right there, Shawn. You've already made your decision irrespective of the facts. You have already compromised this case.”

“Compromised? Why? Because I'm not afraid of my own emotional attachment? I'll have you know that I view that as a tool in my problem-solving, not a liability.”

“It is that exact kind of lame-ass thinking...I can see why you were never a detective.”

“And I can see why you ended up a divorced detective.”

The two of them just stared at each other for a moment, before Shawn checked his watch. “My god. We went almost three hours without having an argument.”

“It's our best holiday in years, huh?”

Shawn’s phone vibrated in his pocket. He checked the text to see Lassie was on his way, ready to go to Jules’.

Henry and Shawn carried food out to the dining room and they all ate, while Shawn explained to his dad the evidence stacked against Mr. G. Shawn’s phone buzzed again letting him know Lassie was outside.

“Okay, I gotta go for an hour or so, but I’ll be back and ready to work on this case as soon as possible.” He stood up and headed for the door, followed by Gus.

“Where are you going Shawn? My dad is in prison and you’re just going to disappear?”

“Lassie needs me to do something with him real quick. I’ll be back before you know it, buddy.”

“Shawn-.”

“Look, I need to make things up to Carly, so if that means taking a break from the case for an hour, it’s what I got to do.”

“…Fine. But just an hour.”

“You got it.” Shawn headed out the door and to Carlton’s car.

Henry popped up behind Gus. He noticed it was Carlton in the car picking Shawn up. “They’re dating, aren’t they?”

Gus scoffed. “What? Don’t be ridiculous. Of course not.”

Henry saw straight through Gus’ lie. “M-hmm. How long has that been going on?”

Gus sighed. “They only recently got back together.”

Henry nodded. Back together? Interesting.

* * *

Shawn and Carlton arrived at the O’Hara residence. Carlton pulled a cardboard box out of the backseat.

“What’s that?”

“It’s a Wii. It turned up in a sweep and I figured O’Hara’s nephews might like playing it for a while.”

“That’s actually very thoughtful of you, Carly.”

“I’m just hoping it makes up for last night.”

The two of them headed up to the door and knocked. Juliet answered the door, a smile on her face. “Carlton, you made it! And Shawn, I wasn’t expecting you.”

“Carly thought it’d be nice if I tagged along.”

Juliet smiled and hugged them both, before letting them inside. “What’s in the box?”

Just then her nephews ran up to see who was at the door. They spotted Shawn behind Carlton.

“Dude, what happened to you?” Finn asked.

Shawn didn’t look as terrible as a mere week or two ago, but he still had yellow bruises around his eye and a cut on his cheek where his stitches used to be, not to mention the broken arm.

“Finn.”

“It’s fine, Jules.” He turned to the boys. “I fought some bad guys overseas. Trust me, you should see the other guy.” He smirked.

“Cool!” The boys agreed.

“Hey, guys, I brought you something.” Carlton handed over the box, which the boys quickly opened.

“A Wii!”

“That’s very generous of you, Carlton.” Jules smiled at her partner.

“Let’s play boxing!” The boys ran off.

Carlton got an eager look on his face. Jules nodded towards the boys. “Go on, have fun.”

Carlton quickly went to follow the kids.

“Remember, Lassie, they’re kids, don’t pummel them.”

Carlton nodded and headed after the boys.

“So Jules. I’m eager to meet a few more O’Hara’s.”

“Well come on, they’re in the kitchen.” She led the way.

* * *

The next hour went perfectly for them. O’Hara’s family loved Shawn and the boys had a blast playing boxing with Carlton. Carlton made sure to take turns and let the boys win enough so that they didn’t lose interest. What came as a surprise, however, was when the military was brought up, the O’Hara’s were thrilled to talk about their own military member, Ewan O’Hara. Shawn had no idea Jules had a brother, much less a brother in the military.

When their hour was almost up, Juliet walked the two of them out to their car. “Thanks for coming, my family loves you both.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were related to Ewan O’Hara?”

“He’s Black Ops, I didn’t think you would have known him.”

“I actually do. He helped out my team on an off-book operation. He’s a cool guy.”

“That’s crazy that you know him.”

“Yeah, small world. Your family is great, Jules. Thanks for the invite.”

“Of course. You’re both welcome over at any time.”

She hugged them both before letting them get into their car. They drove off to the Guster house and Shawn filled Carlton in on who Ewan was on the drive.

* * *

Carlton dropped Shawn off and Gus was sitting on the curb waiting for him. The two of them climbed into the Blueberry.

“Shawn, I don't have to tell you how important this case is. So whatever you need, just let me know.” Gus started to pull away from the curb but Shawn noticed Old Man Fuller’s house was unkept and unruly.

“Hold up, hold up, hold up.” Shawn stopped Gus from driving further.

“What? What is it?”

“Give me a second.” Shawn looked over the house.

“Is it a clue that clears my dad?”

“Can you shush for one second? I know you think this is easy for me, but I do go through a mental process. Like A equals B. B equals C... Which means A equals...” Gus leaned into Shawn’s personal space. “Would you stop it? That's too close! Now I gotta start all over.”

“Damn it, Shawn, what's taking so long?”

“Okay! All right! We need to figure out if there was a Homeowner's Association.”

* * *

Looking for the Homeowner’s Association leads them to the Mitchell residence. They knocked and Mr. Mitchell answered the door.

“Ah, Mr. Mitchell.”

“Yes.”

“My name is Shawn Spencer.”

“I'm not interested in any fake vacation packages. I'm not giving you my social security number so I can claim the grand prize, and I'm not paying for any damn subscriptions for magazines that I know I'll never see.” He closed the door on them.

“I'm the head psychic for the Santa Barbara police department.” Shawn said through the door.

“Oh, well, come on in then.” The three of them headed into the kitchen.

“We're investigating the death of Mr. Fuller. And I am sensing some unresolved conflict between the two of you.” He moved his hand to his head. “Something... something to do with rules and violations.”

“Yes, it's true. Fuller became a constant thorn in my side ever since I started the Homeowner's Association. He refused to follow the ordinances. When I'd give him citations, he'd tear them up and throw them in the trash. So I'd give him another citation. It was a constant, vicious cycle.”

The whole time Mr. Mitchell was talking, Gus was elbowing Shawn. Mr. Mitchell turned away and Gus muttered to Shawn. “It's him. He did it. Bust him, Shawn. See it, see it.” He tried to force Shawn’s hand to his head. “See it.”

“Stop it.” He shoved Gus away as Mr. Mitchell turned back to them. “Sounds like you wanted him out of the way.”

“No, no, not at all. He was a pain, but he was our best supporter.”

“Our?”

“The Mitchell family. We founded this neighborhood 100 years ago. Now we're lobbying the city to have them declare it a historical district. Fuller refused to sell his house after all these years. We were the only friends he had.”

“Hello.” Mrs. Mitchell walked into the room.

“Oh, hi, honey. This is Shawn Spencer and Burton Guster.”

“I remember the two of you from when you were no more than yea high. You had the cutest little lawn-mowing business.”

“Oh, wow, that's right. We did.”

“In fact I think we paid you $5.00 for a job that never got done. You know, the yard tools are out back. I'll go get them.” Mrs. Mitchell walked out back.

Shawn glanced at Mr. Mitchell. “She's, uh... She's not serious, is she?” He nodded. “She is.”

The two of them headed out back as well and they got to work. Shawn watered the flowers while Gus mowed the grass.

“Oh, and make sure to water the gardenias. I've had them longer than you've been alive.” She headed back inside the house.

“This is ridiculous. She should've just accepted the $5.00 refund offer.”

“We need to be solving my dad's case.”

Shawn noticed someone inside Old Man Fuller’s house. “Dude. There's somebody in Old Man Fuller's house.”

Gus immediately ran that direction.

“I can't believe we're gonna bail on the Mitchells' yard again.”

“Come on!”

Shawn hurried after Gus and they got to Fuller’s house as a lady was exiting it.

“Who are you, and what are you doing here?” Gus demanded.

“I should ask you the same thing.”

Shawn noticed that her clipboard had plans for changing up the yard of the house. “My name's Shawn. This is my partner, Skooney "U-turn" Singleton. We're from Dirty Boy landscaping. I got a call from your office, said you needed some estimates on some renovations.”

“Wow. You guys are fast. I just left word at the office saying I needed a landscape architect. You know, I cold-called this geezer for years pushing him to sell, and he always refused. Finally it's available.”

“Really?” Gus asked, a tone in his voice of pure suspicion.

“What's so special about this place?”

“It's the only lot in the neighborhood with 360-degree unobstructed views. It'll sell for a fortune.”

Shawn and Gus shared a look. She was a decent suspect. They chatted with her awhile longer about the yard before they headed out.

“Don't worry, this yard will be immaculate when we're done. Bye-bye. You hear her, Shawn? She's been cold-calling for years. And she stands to make a fortune on this place. That's motive. Right?”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“It's gotta be her. What more do we need? Let's get the cops on it right away.”

Shawn wasn’t convinced though after talking to her. But he would inform Lassie for Gus. “I, I guess it wouldn't, uh, hurt to have them do a cursory background check. Maybe, maybe look. Look at the phone records.”

“Right.”

“Okay.”

Gus headed off and Shawn followed. He pulled out his phone to call Lassie.

* * *

The two of them were watching the real estate lady when Carlton and Jules pulled up to the Gusters’ house. Shawn noticed them first. “Lassie. Lassie, over here!”

Lassie walked over after sending Juliet a look. Juliet headed up the stairs to the Guster residence.

“It's about time. Did you check the phone records?”

Carlton stood so that Shawn and Gus’ backs were to Juliet.

“Yep, your tip paid off.”

“That's great. Thank goodness. There were all these vibes, but I wasn't sure.”

“So it was Rosa.”

Carlton looked confused. “Who?”

Shawn suddenly got a bad feeling.

“The real estate agent.”

“No, no. She has a solid alibi. But we discovered quite a few calls from someone else, who also made numerous cash transfers into Fuller's account. Possibly paying off a blackmail.”

“Wait a second, if you're not about to arrest Rosa, what are you doing standing here?”

Carlton suddenly looked sheepish. “Distracting you.”

“Distracting-.”

“Sorry, Guster.”

They turned around to see Juliet escorting a handcuffed Winnie to the car.

“Shawn! Shawn! Juliet get your hands off my mom!”

“No, no, no, Gus! Gus.” Juliet held up her hand to stop Gus.

“Burton, Burton, please. Don't make a scene, darling.” Winnie said. “The neighbors, neighbors are watching us.”

Juliet gently got Mrs. Burton into the back of the car, much to Gus’ chagrin.

Shawn shot Lassiter an irritated look. “A heads up is all I asked.”

“We didn’t want Gus to freak out.”

“Well that obviously didn’t happen.”

“The evidence is clear, Shawn.”

“Sure it is, just like it was with Mr. G. What next? You going to arrest my dad?”

Carlton sighed. “Of course not.”

Shawn shook his head and went to calm Gus down.

* * *

Shawn and Gus headed straight to the police station, and Lassie let them down into the interrogation room where Winnie and Bill were waiting.

“We got here as fast as we could.” Gus told his parents.

“This is our worst nightmare. It seems like everything is conspiring against us. So we lawyered up. That's how they say it in the bucket, son, where I did an eight-hour bid.”

“I don't know those words. I'm not gonna do well in prison.” Winnie started to cry.

“Don't worry, sweetheart. You'll be fine.”

“She not gonna make it.” Bill whispered to his son.

“I told you, nobody's going to prison.” Gus stated.

“Mrs. G, why didn't you tell anybody that Old Man Fuller was blackmailing you for all these years?” Shawn asked.

“I wanted to, believe me, I did, but I couldn't. You see, this all started when Bill's sailboat caught fire. I tried to muster up the courage to tell everybody that it was my fault. But before I could, the insurance company had paid everything off already. Well, somehow, Fuller knew the truth of what had happened. He threatened to turn me in for insurance fraud if I didn't pay him every month. Well, he was so old, I figured paying him off for the rest of his life was the cheapest route.”

“To the police it looks like motive.” Gus pointed out.

“I know. But don't worry, son. We have called Nana. She's to look after you in case anything should happen to the two of us.”

“Mom, I don't need my grandmother, who lives in a nursing home to look after me.”

“We hear you, son. We hear you. Anyway, it's just until we can raise the money to post your mother's bail and pay our legal bills.” Bill said.

“Whatever the cost is, I'll cover it.” Gus said. “Don't worry about it.”

“We appreciate the gesture, Burton. But, son, we're talking real money.”

“You have a savings account in a penny jar. I have a 401k, a diversified asset-allocated portfolio full of securities and equity to tap into.”

“He's always been so good with the big words. How much do you think we can get for the cutlass?” Winnie looked up at Bill.

“Stop it! I can't take anymore! All of my life it's been Gus can't handle this! Protect Gus from that! Well, guess what? I'm the most responsible, well-prepared, non-criminal-record-having adult in this room.”

“Hey, I was never charged-.”

Gus ignored Shawn and continued on. “And it's high time you two stopped babying me. I'm 29-years-old. And by the way, I know you've only been married for 28 years. I did the math a long time ago. So stop protecting me from that. Starting now, I'm gonna take care of you. I'm gonna give you money. And we're gonna solve this case. Shawn may not have always been the best influence on me, but he's always believed in me, even when I didn't believe in myself. And right now, I believe in him.”

“We hear ya, son.” Bill offered his son a handshake, causing Gus to tear up.

“All right, dude. You had your moment, man. You nailed it. Now go ahead and make a timely exit. Come on, man. Before you gotta make another speech.” Shawn quickly ushered Gus from the room. “Your mom being arrested might be Christmas miracle we need for the case.”

“How so?”

“I suspect she wasn't the only one in the neighborhood that Old Man Fuller was blackmailing. We gotta get back in his house.”

* * *

Shawn and Gus went into Old Man Fuller’s house and had a look around. Shawn noticed markings carved into the bannister of the stairs. He also sticky notes posted all around the house with reminders written on them. They went into one of the side rooms and noticed a telescope and a great view of the neighborhood. Inside the floorboards, they find binoculars, a camera, and a file folder of photos. The photos were of various small-time crimes, but the main photo was of a woman having an affair.

Shawn used the camera to find the house that the affair photos were taken. They head to the house. Shawn knocked. A young man answered.

“Hey. Got some questions for you about some illicit pictures.”

The man who answered the door turn around and ran. Gus chased after him and Shawn headed around the front of the house.

“But we already know where you live!”

The man kept running and Gus gave chase. Shawn was still in no condition to run with his bruised ribs so he followed at a slower pace. Eventually Gus caught up and tackled the guy to the ground.

“Okay, okay. Okay. You got me. I'll give you your pictures back.”

“What?” Gus helped the dude up to his feet as Shawn finally caught up. “We don’t want pictures from you.”

“We have pictures of you, dude. The ones Old Man Fuller was blackmailing you for. What pictures are you talking about?”

“I work at a one-hour photo. I thought you were asking about the pictures of hot, naked chicks I sometimes keep.”

“Wait a minute. This isn't you?” Shawn pulled out the photo and showed it to the guy.

“No. But it kinda looks like my dad. From about 30 years ago when we first moved here.”

Shawn sighed. “Man, it was an old picture mixed in with the new ones. We couldn't tell the difference because they're all black and white.”

“So we're looking for his dad?” Gus asked.

“Yes.”

“He passed away a few years ago.” The guy informed them.

“No. Who's this woman in the photo?”

“It's not my mom. That's for sure. She died before we moved here.”

“Who the hell is she?”

“You know, I don't really feel comfortable talking about my family secrets, all right?”

“What's the name of that one-hour photo where you hide your filthy debauchery?” Gus asked.

“I remember my dad had a female friend who would visit only at night.”

“What was her name?”

“I don't remember.”

“Do you know she lives?”

“No.”

“Can you tell us anything? Gus just tackled you to the ground.”

“When she left the house would smell like, white linen perfume. I remember it because it was the same perfume my mom used to wear when she was alive.”

“So our culprit is a woman?” Gus asked.

“Apparently. Who looked like that 30 years ago.” Shawn answered.

“She's hot.” The guy said.

“What?” Shawn and Gus looked at the guy. “You have problems.”

* * *

The next day, on Christmas Eve, Shawn got the great idea that whoever was getting blackmailed might be at the estate auction. He called Lassie and told him to meet them there. Then he got the scent for Gus to find and the two of them went inside. When Gus couldn’t find anyone with the scent, they almost gave up. But then Shawn noticed Mrs. Mitchell’s dirty nails and remembered her gardenias.

Shawn sprayed the perfume again for Gus. “Identify the base component of that fragrance.”

“Gardenia.”

“Are you absolutely certain?”

“Tahitian gardenia.” Gus confirmed.

“Thank you.” He noticed Lassie and Jules entering the house. “Now give me a push.”

Gus pushed Shawn and he had an eccentric vision, putting on a show for everyone. Explaining exactly how Mrs. Mitchell knocked Old Man Fuller out and dragged his body up the stairs using the chair lift, because the man was going senile and may let it slip that he was blackmailing her. This all led to Carly and Jules arresting Mrs. Mitchell, and dropping all charges against the Gusters.

* * *

That evening, Henry and Shawn invited the Gusters over for their usual Christmas Eve dinner. After dinner, Shawn and Henry exchanged gifts. Shawn’s to his dad revealed that he already knew what he was getting and therefore won the competition for the year. Then he gave his dad a snow globe with his dad fishing inside it. The rest of the evening was filled with drinks and great conversation, and Shawn returned home in a pretty decent mood.

When Shawn got home, Lassie was already there and drinking some scotch while watching a Cops Christmas episode. Shawn quickly changed into some sweats and then curled up on the couch next to his boyfriend.

While they watched TV, Shawn explained to Carlton how he solved the case, and his boyfriend listened, intrigued. In the end, Carlton was impressed as always with how Shawn’s brain worked. They watched a couple episodes of Cops before heading to bed.

* * *

Shawn woke up to the sound of the blender. He glanced at the clock and was shocked to see it was almost 10 am. He hadn’t been sleeping well since he got back and was shocked that he actually slept through the night. He climbed out of bed and headed to the kitchen.

He was greeted with a pineapple smoothie and a kiss. “Merry Christmas, Shawn.”

Shawn smiled. “Merry Christmas, Carly.”

They spent Christmas Day watching movies, cuddling on the couch, and making out. It was a relaxing and enjoyable day for them both. After dinner, they exchanged gifts. Shawn went first, handing Carlton a small box wrapped in red. Inside was a set of dog tags.

“They’re an exact replica of mine.” Shawn patted his set that rested under his shirt. “I got the idea from Sara and War. Sara said having a set was like having a piece of War at home with her when we were away. I know you worry when I’m gone, and I thought having them would bring you some comfort.”

Carlton smiled and pulled Shawn into a deep kiss. “Thank you.” He said after breaking the kiss.

“You’re welcome, Lassie-Frass.”

Carlton then handed over a box wrapped in green. Inside the box was a bottle of pineapple scented cologne and a braided leather bracelet. The cologne was self-explanatory. Shawn loved pineapple and the scent actually comforted him when he was stressed or upset. Shawn sprayed it on his wrist and smiled at the smell. He then picked up the bracelet and looked it over. It was a simple brown leather, braided with a blue strip of leather. There were also a few small, dark blue beads braided in.

“It’s a little cheesy, but we had a case bring us to a shop that sold good luck charms and safety emblems, the like. There were those handmade bracelets there and the lady said they were meant to protect the wearer, keep them safe on long journeys.” Carlton shrugged. “I thought of you. I almost didn’t give it to you, but then you came home beat to hell, and I just felt I had to.”

Shawn smiled, happy that Carlton cared so much about him. He pulled the taller man into another kiss. “Thanks, Carlton. Merry Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas, Shawn.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas, y'all! Just a little late for the real thing. I hope y'all enjoyed the chapter, and I'm taking recommendations for episodes you guys want to see. What are your favorite episodes? I'll try to include as many as I can! Thanks for all the support! Over 300 kudos! It's insane. I love each and every one of you :)


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